About the Client
FS Security is a leading Brazil-based digital security solutions provider serving clients across Brazil and Latin America. The company primarily partners with wireless mobile telecommunications carriers, delivering a wide range of security, entertainment, insurance, assistance, and learning solutions. Its clientele includes several renowned mobile carriers such as Vivo, TIM, Oi, and other market leaders.
Business Situation & Requirements
The telecommunications and data security industry increasingly relies on VPNs as a cost-effective alternative to dedicated private networks such as MPLS, Frame Relay, and VSAT. Many organizations face challenges with third-party VPN solutions due to high recurring licensing costs, limited customization, and dependency on external vendors for feature enhancements.
FS Security, a well-established provider of security solutions for mobile telecommunication companies, was using a third-party VPN SDK to build solutions for its clients. Over time, this approach became restrictive, making it difficult to introduce new features and optimize costs without compromising performance.
To overcome these challenges, FS Security decided to build its own VPN framework that could be seamlessly integrated with its in-house security solutions. The client required a resilient and scalable VPN framework that matched the performance of existing third-party products while significantly reducing fixed and recurring development costs.
In addition, FS Security needed expert consulting support to assess technical feasibility, define the right technology stack, align the solution with budget constraints, and ensure long-term scalability. To achieve this, FS Security partnered with Unthinkable, leveraging its expertise in secure architecture development, data security, and server encryption to guide and execute the project effectively.
The key requirements that were presented to Unthinkable were:
Conduct in-depth technical consulting and develop a Proof of Concept (PoC) for a custom VPN framework by thoroughly analyzing OpenVPN configurations and assessing overall project feasibility.
Design and build a proprietary VPN framework that supports seamless extension and future development across both Android and iOS platforms.
Develop secure, reusable VPN libraries hosted on encrypted servers, enabling easy integration with FS Security’s in-house security solutions for multiple mobile service carriers.
Implement a multi-server architecture that enables secure remote access to data from different geographic locations, tailored to user-specific requirements.
Ensure the VPN framework is highly scalable and resilient to support increasing user loads without compromising performance or reliability.
Establish strong security and compliance measures, including robust encryption, secure key management, and monitoring mechanisms to protect sensitive user data.
Solution
The engagement began with the development of a Proof of Concept (PoC) to validate the feasibility of building a custom VPN framework. Unthinkable’s development team analyzed OpenVPN library files in depth, setting up the server environment and building the required APIs to establish secure VPN connectivity. The successful PoC confirmed the solution’s technical viability and laid a strong foundation for full-scale development. Notably, even at this early stage, the framework delivered performance benchmarks comparable to the third-party VPN solution previously used by FS Security, reinforcing confidence in the approach.
Following PoC validation, Unthinkable proceeded to design and develop a full-fledged VPN framework tailored for seamless integration within Android and iOS mobile applications. The solution was built to provide secure access over encrypted channels, protect users from unsafe networks such as public Wi-Fi, and safeguard data from cyber threats. With a strong focus on scalability, security, and reliability, the framework enabled FS Security to offer enterprise-grade VPN services without compromising performance or user experience.
A few additional features that were integrated into the SDK were:
Display statistics: The VPN allows users to monitor their data uploads and usage directly within the integrated mobile application by displaying detailed statistics, including session traffic, historical usage, and total data consumption. Additionally, the solution includes built-in ad-blocking and data compression capabilities to enhance security while optimizing data usage.
Admin Panel: The admin panel was developed to support VPN role management, multi-region configuration, and active connection monitoring. It also enables comprehensive user management, allowing administrators to perform actions such as disabling accounts, blacklisting or removing devices, and disconnecting active VPN sessions.
Traffic Management: The VPN server was designed to control user data traffic speeds and manage logs across users, the VPN, and the API. In addition, the framework supports automatic scaling of both API and VPN servers, enabling it to handle high traffic volumes efficiently and reliably.
The custom VPN framework developed for FS Security has been fully integrated into their solutions, allowing users to browse the internet anonymously and securely. Building on the success of this VPN implementation, Unthinkable is now developing FS DataSaver, a solution designed to optimize mobile data usage on both Android and iOS platforms.
The Impact
FS Security has successfully reduced its annual fixed costs, which were previously incurred due to reliance on third-party VPN solutions. By developing its own custom VPN framework, the company can now deliver enhanced security solutions to clients at 23% lower cost.
The customizable and scalable VPN features have enabled FS Security to expand its client base, as solutions can be tailored to meet diverse requirements. Leveraging technologies such as MySQL and PHP, the company has strengthened data security and improved operational efficiency.
Additionally, their backlog of support tickets has significantly decreased, as FS Security no longer depends on third-party support systems to resolve client queries.
13%
Reduction In Application Development Costs
7
Full-Stack Developers In The Development Team
30%
Reduction In Development Time
