With the rise of VPNs and masked traffic, is geoblocking by IP address still an effective solution against unauthorized access? Some argue it's outdated, while others insist on its role in reducing automated attacks. What's your take on this?
Is geo-IP blocking really useful in 2024?
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A while back with my hosting service, I used to block IPs by country to protect the control panel from brute force attacks. However, I noticed that most attackers use VPNs to bypass this list, and it even started causing issues for legitimate users connecting from neighboring countries. After that, I became convinced that this method is only good for reducing 40-50% of automated attacks, but it shouldn't be relied on alone.
Geo-IP blocking still works a bit, but if the hacker uses a VPN or Tor, it's completely useless, right? Unless maybe to ward off basic attacks, but it's really risky to rely on it in 2024.
Geographic IP blocking is like locking a reinforced door when you know some people already have spare keys. In today's landscape where proxies, VPNs, and random routing services (like Tor or "private" versions of WireGuard) are commonplace, its real usefulness is debatable.
Take modern solutions like Cloudflare Access or advanced WAFs: they combine behavioral analysis, two-factor verification, and *dynamic* geolocation—far more precise than a simple IP blacklist. The real issue today is that automated attacks (scraping, credential stuffing) often originate from botnets spread across the globe. Blocking an IP from China or Russia because a suspicious request came from there is like removing a dead leaf while the storm has already destroyed everything. Where geo-blocking isn’t entirely useless is in preventing mass access from targeted regions (e.g., a sensitive service restricted to European users), but even then, a multi-layered approach (geo-location + threat intelligence) is essential. In 2024, relying solely on it for security is like driving a 2CV while everyone else has a Tesla.