PureVPN’s infrastructure is equipped with a strong authentication mechanism at every level. Our VPN servers’ access is maintained via a centralized access manager, where the access request is assessed and, if approved, issues time-bound access with a one-time password (OTP). Our code repo is also authorized via Multi-Factor Authentication. IP whitelisting is mandatory for any access to our infrastructure.

Our engineering process entails security assessment from Epic / Grooming phase until it goes live. The code review process follows the ‘four-eye’ principle where a review is performed by multiple teams prior to merging in release and master branches. A security scanning tool for static code assessment is integrated into continuous integration (CI) process and identified bugs are fixed prior to rollout in production. Additionally, a reputable third party is brought on to perform application security assessments using advanced testing methodologies.

To ensure that there is no traffic leakage from the VPN tunnel, PureVPN has developed open-source tools to test the leakages. These are readily available on our website.

The components of client-side applications running in privilege mode for required functionality, like adding firewall rules, etc., are secured using memory protection, strong authentication, and allowing only permissible actions to non-privileged users.

We have implemented an automated vulnerability management program wherein weekly scans are performed and reported vulnerabilities are fixed. Any ad hoc vulnerability reported at random is tested and fixed across the infrastructure in minimal time. Our employees are subscribed to CVE announcements for all in-production software to support the Vulnerability Management Program. Additionally, policy compliance scans are also scheduled to continuously monitor security baseline configurations.

We have implemented an intrusion detection and prevention system on our infrastructure and cloud assets to mitigate attacks and get alerted of potentially malicious events in a timely fashion. Traffic is routed via a Web Application Firewall to mitigate platform attacks like DDoS, web application attacks, and so on.

PureVPN has implemented a penetration testing program in multiple folds. Employees are assigned to penetrate our infrastructure and apps during engineering streams. A reputable third-party firm is then brought onboard to test all platforms.

At PureVPN, the deployment of applications and infrastructure is fully automated, removing the human element from the process. International security benchmarks are part of the security baseline configuration enforced at PureVPN. Hardened images are deployed using an automated configuration management tool.

All firewalls are configured to deny traffic by default and only authorized protocols and intended traffic is allowed after the change assessment process.

Where applicable, the dedicated workstation is used to access production systems hardened for specific tasks. This enables us to provide the best services to our users with embedded quality and security assurance. All services and operations run under the least privileged model to reduce the attack surface.

Monitoring agents are part of the configuration baseline to ensure automated compliance and integrity of critical files.

We have segregated web architecture. Our website servers do not host any data nor do they have any direct access to databases. Interaction is built using best practices by implementing API gateways with limited exposure to only intended data views. Attack surface is further reduced by allowing limited consumer interaction with business logic.

Users are not authorized to export any consumer’s personally identifiable information. A device security policy is applied on user systems with predefined hardened images.

Endpoint security control is implemented to mitigate the spread of malware and attacks on host systems. Strict URL monitoring is implemented to ensure that even potentially malicious sites are blocked.

Systems are patched periodically via an automated tool. Host-based network firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, security baseline benchmarking, application control, restricted removable storage access, privilege ID control, and continuous host monitoring via centralized solution are key highlights of endpoint security.

All staff, including employees and contractors, are part of the PureVPN security awareness program right from the time they join the company till they advance for opportunities outside PureVPN. We ensure that all our employees and contractors understand security requirements at PureVPN and that cybersecurity is a crucial part of their work philosophy.

Since we deal with global customers, we make it a point that our employees, suppliers, and contractors understand the importance of cybersecurity measures to protect their data. We always screen our employees and contractors against human and technical security requirements, including security clearance of employees, and third-party security compliance certificates for vendors and partners.

PureVPN is a no-log certified VPN service provider, where customer privacy is a priority. We do not keep any customer VPN data (VPN IP, or activities performed while connected to PureVPN server, etc.). Our customer success agents, who provide customer support, access the data via bastion host using whitelisted IPs (an additional security measure). Multi-Factor Authentication is implemented for logging into the web application. Limited PII is required for using our service – we do not ask for any payment information – this information is only available to the payment processor.

PureVPN specifically chose the British Virgin Islands as its headquarters because there are “no mandatory data retention laws” there. We are, therefore, not legally obliged to store user data or share it with anyone.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect back in 2018. As per GDPR rules, businesses are required to secure their users’ personal data, while clearly highlighting their privacy policies. Further, businesses require consent from users to share their data with third parties. Failure to comply with GDPR rules results in major penalties. PureVPN has been a GDPR-compliant VPN brand since 2018 when the regulations first came into effect.

Customer privacy is paramount at PureVPN. We make sure that even authorized access to servers is strictly monitored and controlled. Stringent controls and technology are in place to confine privilege access on VPN servers and monitor the privileged use to ensure that only authorized activities can be performed by the administrators, compliant with PureVPN’s privacy policy.

Access Management solution is implemented to enforce time-based access, which is provided after multiple stages of approvals. A dedicated function is established for continuous monitoring of privileged activities on servers; like conforming an approved list of software and baseline configuration to ensure that any changes which may affect customer privacy must not remain undetected.

PureVPN has a strict no-log policy in place. This means that our users can rest assured that their data always remains secure and private. Being in a privacy-friendly jurisdiction, PureVPN is not expected to handle many data-sharing requests in the first place. But even if or when a request for user’s data is made, PureVPN does not have a system in place that can retain the relevant data of users, making it impossible to share it with any third party.

PureVPN periodically releases transparency reports in order for our users to see how exactly we handle their data. You can check out these periodic transparency reports here.

We’ve already completed three successful no-log policy assurance audits from two of the most reputable auditing firms. Moreover, we are the only VPN brand with an always-on no-log audit status from KPMG. This agreement allows KPMG, one of the big-four IT auditing firms, to perform a surprise audit of PureVPN’s servers at any time to check if we are complying with our privacy policy.

So far, we’ve already been audited twice by KPMG and once by Altius IT, all of them certifying that PureVPN complies with its no-log policy.