Your Network Is Showing – Time to Go Stealth

The Old Guard: Firewalls, VPNs and Exposed Control Planes

Cyberattacks have evolved beyond the perimeter. No longer limited to opportunistic breaches, attackers are now executing coordinated campaigns that target the very foundations of enterprise network infrastructure — firewalls, VPNs, and control planes.

The growing sophistication of adversaries has exposed the limits of traditional security models, forcing organizations to rethink not just their tools, but their entire approach to network design.

From Visible to Invisible: The Shift Begins Here

It’s time for a new security mindset – one rooted in invisibility, disaggregation, and zero trust. In this post, we’ll break down:

• Why outdated VPNs and firewall appliances are increasingly under siege
• How stealth networking and plane separation significantly reduce attack surfaces
• What practical steps organizations can take to future-proof their infrastructure

VPNs and Firewalls: The New Front Door for Attackers

Over the past year, attacks on firewall and VPN infrastructure have made headlines — and for good reason. In April 2024, Palo Alto Networks’ PAN-OS suffered a zero-day vulnerability that allowed attackers to install a Python-based backdoor known as UPSTYLE. This attack, dubbed Operation Midnight Eclipse, bypassed firewall defenses and allowed full remote access to internal networks.

Just one month earlier, the Volt Typhoon campaign — attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored group — targeted U.S. infrastructure by compromising Fortinet FortiGuard devices and Cisco routers. These intrusions weren’t opportunistic. They were strategic, persistent, and laser-focused on exploiting firewall and VPN weak points to establish long-term control over sensitive systems.

The takeaway? Firewalls and VPNs are no longer the line of defense. They’re often the first point of failure.

Why Traditional VPNs Are Now a Liability

VPNs were once considered a gold standard for remote access. But as networks have grown more complex and workforces have gone hybrid, VPNs have become both overextended and overexposed.

Common vulnerabilities in legacy VPN environments include:

• Unpatched software and zero-days: Legacy VPNs often lack auto-update mechanisms, making them prime targets.
• Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks: VPN traffic is often encrypted, but still visible and interceptable.
• Credential theft and poor access controls: Without MFA or segmentation, credentials grant broad, persistent access.
• Firewalls as multi-function single points of failure: When VPNs rely on hardware firewalls, compromising that device can compromise the entire network.

These weaknesses, combined with increased attacker sophistication, demand more than incremental improvements and require architectural change.

Step-by-Step: How to Reduce Your Firewall VPN Attack Surface

Transitioning away from legacy VPNs and firewalls doesn’t happen overnight. It can be both complicated and costly, but it is a necessary measure, and there is a roadmap. Here’s how to begin:

Step 1: Conduct a VPN & Firewall Security Audit

• Inventory all VPN gateways and firewall appliances
• Check for unsupported devices, default credentials, and unpatched firmware
• Review access logs for unusual activity or persistent connections

Step 2: Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

• Require MFA for all remote and privileged access
• Use hardware tokens or app-based authenticators, not just SMS

Step 3: Segment Users and Applications

• Apply role-based access controls
• Implement policies that restrict user access to only the resources necessary for each user or team

Step 4: Replace Legacy VPNs with Stealth Networking

• Use software-defined networking to separate the control plane and the data plane
• Route encrypted traffic over multiple dynamic paths, making interception far more difficult

Step 5: Hide the Data Plane Entirely

• Use infrastructure obfuscation to eliminate visible network attack surfaces
• Conceal endpoints and dynamically change packet routes to prevent mapping or surveillance

Step 6: Continuously Monitor and Optimize

• Use anomaly detection and traffic analytics to watch for reconnaissance attempts
• Update policies and keys regularly; rotate cryptographic credentials often

In our recent white paper, discover how Stealth Networking transforms traditional network security with advanced multi-path architectures, quantum-resistant encryption, and endpoint obfuscation. Download now.

Leverage the Power of Stealth Networking

Dispersive Stealth Networking offers an advanced alternative to VPN-based security. Rather than relying on a single encrypted tunnel, Dispersive splits sessions across multiple encrypted and randomized paths that are dynamically routed in real time. Even if an attacker somehow intercepts one path, the complete session remains secure and unreadable.

Additional benefits include:

• Endpoint concealment:  Attackers can’t target what they can’t see
• Rotating encryption keys: Keys are refreshed continuously, reducing window of exposure
• No single point of failure: Control and data planes are both separated and decentralized
• 10X performance improvements for edge, AI, and cloud workloads

This isn’t just a different way to encrypt data — it’s a different way to think about networks altogether.

Why Separating the Control and Data Planes Matters

In traditional infrastructure, the control plane (the logic that decides how traffic is routed) is tightly coupled with the data plane (the path the data actually takes). This setup makes both planes vulnerable. Dispersive disaggregates these functions entirely.

• Control Plane:  Cloud-delivered, globally distributed, and protected
• Data Plane:  Hidden, decentralized, and routed through a dynamic mesh

This separation ensures that even if attackers compromise control plane metadata or routing logic, they still can’t touch the actual data in transit.

Real-World Relevance: Fortinet & Palo Alto Compromises

The recent Fortinet and PAN-OS compromises underscore why this architectural shift matters. In both cases, attackers didn’t just exploit software vulnerabilities — they used access to pivot deeper into the network. A visible, static, monolithic infrastructure gave them everything they needed. In contrast, an invisible, disaggregated, constantly shifting stealth network like Dispersive’s would offer no such target.

Final Thoughts

In cybersecurity, visibility is vulnerability. Legacy firewalls and VPNs may have served us well, but they were built for a different era. One that did not contend with persistent threats, state-sponsored campaigns, and AI-powered surveillance.

To stay ahead, organizations must:

• Upgrade or eliminate outdated VPN infrastructure
• Disaggregate control and data planes
• Implement stealth networking to minimize visibility and attack surface

The next generation of network security isn’t about hardening what’s visible — it’s about hiding what matters most.

Ready to rethink your infrastructure? Dispersive can help you make your network invisible to attackers and resilient by design. We invite you to schedule a private consultation to learn more.

Header image courtesy of Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.

The post Your Network Is Showing – Time to Go Stealth appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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