VPN Light is being phased out – this applies going forward
The IT Office has decided to phase out and discontinue the VPN Light service, which has been available for computers outside the central client service Karyon. The decision is part of KI's efforts to strengthen security within our IT infrastructure. The phase-out will be implemented at a slower pace than announced initially, to allow users time to adapt their working methods to other technical solutions.
Why is VPN Light being discontinued?
VPN Light has been a temporary solution since the previous VPN service, Cisco Anyconnect, was phased out, while several departments were still waiting to be connected to Coordinated IT. In 2026, all departments will be part of Coordinated IT, where a centralised and secure client, Karyon, with advanced security features and VPN access, is available as standard.
Allowing unauthorised and unknown devices to connect to KI's internal network and resources poses significant security risks, and since secure alternatives are available for the entire organisation, these risks are no longer acceptable.
What applies now?
- No new user accounts of VPN Light will be created.
- All departments that are part of Coordinated IT must use the managed client service Karyon and its VPN functionality for remote connection.
- Users within Coordinated IT who have registered as users will be removed from the VPN Light service. If you are a user, you will receive an email with more detailed information.
- VPN Light can no longer be used from KI's lab network.
- VPN Light only provides access to a predefined list of services.
- Inactive VPN Light user accounts have been deleted.
- In the long term, VPN Light will be phased out completely.
What do you need to do?
If you currently use VPN Light and belong to a department within Coordinated IT, you should instead use the Karyon client for a secure remote connection via VPN.
Please feel free to read the descriptions of solutions for various use cases on the page Replacing VPN Light: solutions and approaches.
Support consultant accounts
If your organisation has external consultants with support consultant accounts with VPN Light access, you need to inform ITA of the consultant's needs and which systems or IT solutions the consultant helps to support, so that the right solution can be proposed for the specific needs.
You can do this by creating a case ticket in KI Self Service.
Guidance for different use cases
On the page Replacing VPN Light: solutions and approaches, you can find examples of solutions for specific use cases, such as requests to use Linux or server administration.