Intranet, Extranet and VPN

 

Term	Meaning	Example
Intranet	An internal network that uses Internet technologies but is accessible only to authorised users within an organisation	A university staff portal
Extranet	A controlled part of an organisation’s network that can be accessed by selected external users	A supplier accessing an inventory system
VPN	A Virtual Private Network that allows a user to access an organisation’s network securely from another location	An employee accessing office files while working from home

Important Point

A VPN normally uses security technologies such as encryption to protect data during transmission.