At the 2025 RSA Conference in San Francisco, amidst a sea of cybersecurity innovations, Tailscale stood out with a refreshingly simple message: “Drop your VPN. Not your standards.” This bold statement resonated with over 2,000 attendees who visited Tailscale’s booth, eager to explore a modern approach to secure networking.
Avery Pennarun, CEO and co-founder of Tailscale, recounted the company’s inception, highlighting a critical vulnerability in high-priced banking software lacking two-factor authentication. This revelation underscored the need for a VPN solution that seamlessly integrated with corporate identity providers to access securely stored servers. Tailscale emerged as a response to this need, aiming to virtualize networking and provide a more targeted, user-friendly solution.
Celebrating five years since its general availability, Tailscale reflects on its core philosophy: simplicity. The company believes that setting up a secure private network shouldn’t be a complex ordeal involving port forwarding, intricate firewall rules, or late-night troubleshooting. Instead, Tailscale offers a solution where users can download the application on two machines and establish a secure connection effortlessly.
Tailscale’s commitment to reliability has paid off, with over 10,000 business customers and hundreds of thousands of individual users connecting devices ranging from laptops to IoT devices. The company’s approach ensures that infrastructure works seamlessly, fostering trust and goodwill among its user base.
Tailscale ACL Flow Diagram
From homelab enthusiasts connecting 3D printers to Fortune 500 companies securing global offices, Tailscale’s versatility caters to a broad spectrum of users. The same features that benefit individual users also address complex enterprise needs, demonstrating the platform’s adaptability.
At RSAC 2025, the cybersecurity community grappled with the rapid evolution of AI and its implications. Tailscale’s message struck a chord, emphasizing the need to move beyond legacy VPNs that are often expensive, unreliable, and ill-suited for modern, remote, and cloud-based infrastructures. Attendees expressed a clear desire for solutions that are not only secure but also user-friendly and efficient.
In discussions at the conference, Tailscale addressed common questions:
- Question: How is Tailscale different from traditional VPNs?
Answer: Tailscale is built for modern infrastructure, eliminating the need for hardware and single points of failure. - Question: Is Tailscale a Zero Trust solution?
Answer: Yes, but with a focus on tangible improvements in security, visibility, and user experience, rather than just adopting a label. - Question: What is the business value and deployment time?
Answer: Teams can roll out Tailscale in hours, leading to fewer support tickets, enhanced engineering velocity, and reduced risk exposure.
Tailscale’s journey underscores a fundamental truth in cybersecurity: simplicity and reliability are paramount. As organizations continue to navigate the complexities of modern networking, solutions like Tailscale offer a path forward that doesn’t compromise on security or user experience.
In a landscape crowded with complex security tools, Tailscale’s approach offers a breath of fresh air. By focusing on simplicity, reliability, and user-centric design, Tailscale is redefining what secure networking looks like in the modern era. For those ready to “drop their VPNs but not their standards,” Tailscale presents a compelling solution.
For more insights from RSAC 2025 and to explore Tailscale’s offerings, visit their official blog.
About the Author
Pete Green is the CISO / CTO of Anvil Works, a ProCloud SaaS company. With over 25 years of experience in information technology and cybersecurity, Pete is a seasoned and accomplished security practitioner.
Throughout his career, he has held a wide range of technical and leadership roles, including LAN/WLAN Engineer, Threat Analyst, Security Project Manager, Security Architect, Cloud Security Architect, Principal Security Consultant, Director of IT, CTO, CEO, Virtual CISO, and CISO.
Pete has supported clients across numerous industries, including federal, state, and local government, as well as financial services, healthcare, food services, manufacturing, technology, transportation, and hospitality.
He holds a Master of Computer Information Systems in Information Security from Boston University, which is recognized as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance / Cyber Defense (CAE IA/CD) by the NSA and DHS. He also holds a Master of Business Administration in Informatics.
