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Insider Threat Matrix™Insider Threat Matrix™
  • ID: AF029.002
  • Created: 20th October 2025
  • Updated: 20th October 2025
  • Platforms: WindowsLinuxMacOSiOSAndroidAmazon Web Services (AWS)Microsoft AzureGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP)Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
  • Contributor: Ryan Bellows

Unauthorized VPN Usage

The subject deliberately uses Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology in a manner that circumvents organizational oversight, masking the nature, destination, or content of network activity. This includes installing unapproved VPN clients, as well as reconfiguring sanctioned VPN software to route traffic through unauthorized exit nodes, personal infrastructure, or third-party services not governed by corporate policy.

 

By diverting traffic away from monitored pathways, the subject obstructs standard telemetry collection - evading logging of session destinations, data transfers, or identity-bound usage. This behavior frustrates forensic reconstruction, hinders real-time monitoring, and degrades the reliability of investigative artifacts. Unauthorized VPN usage is an intentional anti-forensics measure aimed at concealing potentially harmful activity behind layers of encrypted and unsanctioned transit.