A VPN Too Popular Among Cyber Criminals
According to Europol, DoubleVPN was heavily advertised on both Russian and English-speaking underground cybercrime forums as a way to “mask the location and identities of ransomware operators and phishing fraudsters.” DoubleVPN claimed it logged no client activity prior to its downfall. A “no logs” VPN provider guarantees anonymity by keeping no records of users’ DNS queries, local or assigned IP addresses, connection and disconnection times, browsing history, or any other online activity. Visitors to DoubleVPN’s website are now greeted by a message from law enforcement: “Law enforcement gained access to the servers of DoubleVPN and seized personal information, logs and statistics kept by DoubleVPN about all of its customers. DoubleVPN’s owners failed to provide the services they promised.” Dutch National Police, Europol, the FBI and the UK’s National Crime Agency conducted the joint investigation and disabled infrastructure in several countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Canada and the US.
A Higher Level of Anonymity
Law enforcement said the service claimed to provide higher levels of anonymity. The service offered single, double, or triple VPN connections for clients at the same time. These connections would allow internet traffic to be routed through up to three separate VPNs servers at the same time. In a triple connection, the first server would redirect the connection to the second server and then on to the third. All the while, DoubleVPN would encrypt data through each separate connection, allowing for a higher level of anonymity. The cheapest single connection offered was $25 per month, while the triple connection started at $42 per month. Europol said they even offered a quadruple connection option.
Is Using a VPN Legal?
It’s completely legal to use a VPN in most countries. Since DoubleVPN advertised such advanced levels of anonymity and was being promoted among black-hat hackers and other cybercriminals, it became a target for authorities. Most politically stable, western-minded countries allow the use of VPNs and have acknowledged their merits. Of course, when you use a VPN to engage in illegal activities — such as ransomware attacks, hacking, cyberstalking, downloading and distributing copyrighted content, or other nefarious activities — those actions would be considered illegal. Countries with more authoritarian regimes like China, Russia, and Iran have banned the use of VPNs. So if you’re in a country that has prohibited VPN services, their use is considered illegal. For a complete list of countries where VPNs are banned and a more in-depth look at VPN legality, check out our article here.
Legally Using a VPN for Privacy and Security
Although DoubleVPN became synonymous with using a VPN for illegal purposes, many people all over the world use different VPNs for many legal and useful reasons. Many countries have acknowledged the privacy and security benefits that VPNs provide. VPNs have become an essential tool for governments, companies and individual users to protect their sensitive data. There are plenty of reasons to use a VPN. Here are a few:
Individual privacy protection: You can browse the internet anonymously if you’re concerned about your online privacy. Secure public browsing: When you use a public Wi-Fi connection, you want to keep your traffic private and steer away from any interference. Protection of sensitive information: Governments and companies use VPNs to keep communications, transactions and sensitive data secure. Unblocking content: VPNs are great when it comes to geo-blocking restrictions, and make streaming content from across the world much easier. Cybersecurity: Users opt for VPNs to prevent cyberattacks like phishing, hacking and stalking.
If you’re interested in an in-depth analysis of VPNs and their uses, check out our full article here.
