NordLabs wants to use AI to build the next generation of VPN

Two NordVPN logos to illustrate its Double VPN feature
(Image credit: NordVPN)

NordVPN wants to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in its next generation of Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and to achieve that, it just launched a brand new platform.

NordLabs - a platform for “experimental projects and cutting-edge innovations”, with the company saying the platform will “explore emerging technologies, such as AI, to create new tools and services.”

Users can sign up on this link and then get exclusive access to new products and services. The first solutions should reach the testing stages in September, NordVPN confirmed.  

NordLabs launch

Vykintas Maknickas, the head of product strategy at Nord Security, said that the heading new technologies take depends entirely on the choices that their users make: "New emerging technologies raise challenges for cybersecurity, privacy, and internet freedom, but at the same time, they bring new opportunities. NordLabs will allow us to have additional flexibility when it comes to the development of experimental tools and services.” 

“We do not expect all projects appearing in NordLabs will later become fully maintained standalone products, but we are thrilled about the opportunity to curb cutting-edge technologies for better internet.” 

Besides being a platform where early adopters and tech enthusiasts can get exclusive access to early-stage projects, NordLabs will also be used by the NordVPN team of engineers and developers, as a testing ground for new ideas and emerging tech. 

The first solutions, to be tested in September, will include a new tool, built on machine learning, to help users better defend themselves from phishing emails. There will also be a tool to help users determine if an image was generated with AI or not. 

Threat actors have been using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve their criminal campaigns for quite some time now.

Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.