Tunneling to safety
The concept of network tunnels and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) is nothing new. However, in every one of those instances, the connection is based on the layer four address of the components involved. We can connect our application machines using a series of point-to-point VPNs, but that isn't going to alleviate the need to identify and secure the application. In reality, the use of VPNs actually increases the need for application identity instead of relying on simply the address. However, we can still look at the VPN as a model for where we want to be.
When you establish a VPN in most cases, there is a software application that connects to some remote site or service. When that connection is made, your device now has a new IP address, valid on the destination network, and all machine traffic flows through that connection. The beauty of VPNs is that the information traversing the VPN is encrypted and secured, from the VPN client to the VPN server. This...