This lab shows how to configure a virtual private network (VPN) server with pfSense Firewall and how to configure a firewall rule for the VPN traffic. pfSense has a VPN tool that will help walk a user through the steps of creating an OpenVPN. First, the user creates a new certificate authority which is a small data file that helps websites verify online identity. In pfSense there are different settings that can be changed in order to provide security for the VPN. There is an option in pfSense for the key length which determines how long the key string will be and raising this value will increase the level of security but will also increase verification times. pfSense also allows you to set how long that key will be valid for until it expires. The lab has you enter the information for the certificate authority such as state, city, school, and email. After, creating a certificate authority pfSense has you create a server certificate.

The server certificate also provides validation from web servers to verify the validity of communications. The lab then has you set the tunnel network which is moving data from a private network across a public network using encapsulation (Schulting, 2006). Then you enter the IP of the local network or the network that will be accessible from the remote endpoint. pfSense allows for other information to be added such as a number of concurrent users or advanced push commands. These commands can change how the OpenVPN can route people and using push “route…” allows doing this for all clients. Once the certificates are created the lab had us a configure a firewall rule for VPN traffic. pfSense walks the user through setting up the basic firewall rule but then the lab had us go into the specific OpenVPN rules and modify those rules to allow traffic.

VPNs are great tools in cybersecurity because it helps protect information going out over a public network and protects the user. VPNs can allow users to show as if their IP is originating from different countries or be a secure way for a company to remote access systems of applications. pfSense is a great tool to configure and implement firewall rules for an OpenVPN. Being able to properly configure a VPN protects an organizations assets and information.

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