Now although it is understandable that some will crash in with the obvious ‘conspiracy theory', argument that this is some devious ploy to stop people using VPNs, naturally the advice is more nuanced than can seem at first.
I do trust that everyone commenting on this has followed the link provided and read the entire article, something I try to do before posting, always best to have facts on your side when making an argument.
Now what the CISA advice said was that “personal VPNs simply shift residual risks from the internet service provider (ISP) to the VPN provider, often increasing the attack surface.”
And as the article itself says; "However, as CISA's advice implies, the rush for a quick privacy fix can lead users to download dubious apps that are, at best, ineffective and, at worst, outright spyware."
At best a VPN will hide what you are doing from your own ISP, but hand over all of this information to whoever controls the other end of the VPN tunnel, who could be....?
The article is simply pointing out that just jumping on the VPN bandwagon without actually understanding what they are, how they work and what they can and can’t do - can actually decrease a users privacy. I’ve lost count of the number of posts in the past on this and other forums with users saying ‘I always use a VPN for extra security’; no, not necessarily, no!
Ironically the OSA is a prime example of the ‘law of unintended consequences’. Although I’m sure most people would agree that there is content unsuitable for children and there should be some guardrails in place; but demanding they hand over personal information to some random third party to prove their age, is a step too far, and they will go to considerable lengths to bypass it.
Alas, these lengths can often involve downloading ‘random malware ridden widget A’ and installing it with no thought about what else it might be doing. And that’s the crux of the recommendation.
Of course this is the same CISA who only a month ago was recommending that users don’t use simple text messages as they are too easy to intercept, but instead only use encrypted systems.
https://www.computerworld.com/articl...messaging.html
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