Have you ever heard of Kevin Mitnick? He was a notorious hacker who used to be on the US government’s “Most Wanted” list. He served five years in prison for computer fraud. But since his release he has built a career working as a security consultant. Today he is a highly regarded and influential cyber security expert.

This is what he says about VPNs:
“Your hotel, airport lounge, or coffee shop’s public Wi-Fi network is not to be trusted. The only thing you can do safely on a public network is browse the internet. Whenever you’re connecting to an open wireless network, go through a virtual private network. A VPN encrypts your internet activity making it very difficult for a hacker to get access to that information.”

Oldest and most dangerous attacks

A VPN protects against man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks.
  • MiTM attacks are one of the oldest and most dangerous cyber-attacks. These attacks target the data that leaves your computer by hijacking it before it reaches its destination, for instance, when you’re connecting to a public Wi-Fi network. 
  • But your data can also be vulnerable to MitM attacks and surveillance when you browse the internet or shop online from your home network. 
  • Hackers can do things like redirect a browser to a malicious website and steal information such as banking information.

Criminals, villains and spies

MiTM attacks are very common and many of them go undetected until a bank account is emptied or credit card bills show purchases that the owner never made.
  • Europol caught a gang of fraudsters who used MiTM attacks to sniff out and intercept payment requests via email. The gang stole about €6 million within a “very short time” said Europol 
  • A major flaw in banking apps running on IoS and Android smartphones opened up dozens of banking apps to MitM attacks.

But your personal data isn’t just of interest to cyber criminals:
  • The US National Security Agency intercepted citizens’ private data traffic to keep tabs on potentially anyone's Google searches. 
  • Tracking your browsing history and collecting and selling your private data to third parties have become a multi-million dollar industry.

Reclaim your privacy rights

BullGuard VPN gives you security, privacy and freedom:
  • Our secure VPN protects against MitM attacks. It sends your internet traffic through a strongly encrypted VPN tunnel, so your passwords and confidential data stay safe, even over public or untrusted internet connections. 
  • You can browse Wi-Fi hotspots securely from your smartphone or laptop safe in the knowledge that you can’t be tracked, monitored or have your data stolen. 
  • Your internet service provider only sees encrypted traffic passing to our VPN servers. It cannot decipher the data or identify the websites you visit, keeping your browsing history private. 
  • We do not log user activity or share data with third parties ensuring internet browsing without surveillance.
  • BullGuard VPN breaks down the barriers of internet censorship, allowing you to access any website or content anywhere in the world.