In response to the proposed rule requiring VPN service providers to store and control their users’ data, another famous Virtual Private Network service provider, Surfshark, has shut down its servers in India. Surfshark, like ExpressVPN, plans to build virtual Indian servers that will be physically based in the United Kingdom and Singapore, allowing customers to access Indian websites. Surfshark, stated on Tuesday that it is shutting down its servers in India in response to a government mandate requiring VPN service providers to preserve user logs for 180 days and gather and store client data for five years. According to the company, which is based in the Netherlands, it operates under a strict “no log” policy, therefore the government’s new rules go against its “fundamental ethos.” In response to the government’s directive, ExpressVPN shut down its VPN servers in the country last week.
Surfshark became the second major virtual private network (VPN) service to shut down its servers in India, following ExpressVPN, in reaction to India’s new cybersecurity policy, which mandates VPNs to preserve customer data for five years. VPN providers leaving India “isn’t helpful for its developing IT sector,” according to the business.
“A VPN is an online privacy tool, and Surfshark was founded to make it as easy to use for the common users as possible. The infrastructure that Surfshark runs on has been configured in a way that respects the privacy of our users, and we will not compromise our values or our technical base” Gytis Malinauskas, Surfshark’s Head of Legal, believes.
Source: www.indiatoday.in
Before the new law takes effect on June 27, Surfshark said its physical servers in India will be taken down. The corporation will introduce “virtual” Indian servers when the rules take effect, which will be physically situated in Singapore and London. According to Surfshark, the loss of VPN services in India will exacerbate the country’s cybersecurity problems.
“Notably, VPN providers leaving India is bad for the country’s developing IT sector,” the report stated.
Source: www.indiatoday.in
According to Surfshark’s data, 254.9 million of the 14.9 billion accounts created since 2004, the year when data breaches became common, belong to Indian users. This means that the personal contact information of 18 out of every 100 Indian users has been compromised.
“Taking such radical action that highly impacts the privacy of millions of people living in India will most likely be counterproductive and strongly damage the sector’s growth in the country. Ultimately, collecting excessive amounts of data within Indian jurisdiction without robust protection mechanisms could lead to even more breaches nationwide,” was mentioned the corporation.
Source; gadgets360.com
About The Company:
Surfshark is a British Virgin Islands-based virtual private network (VPN) operator. Surfshark VPN was founded in 2018 and is owned by Surfshark Ltd., which has employees in eight countries. At the time of writing, the corporation has 3,200+ servers across 65 countries. Surfshark provides a lower range of VPN protocols than other VPN providers, but the ones it does support are among the most popular.
Surfshark VPN servers are accessible from anywhere in the world, and users may disguise their surfing behavior with end-to-end encryption. Apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, macOS, and Amazon Fire TV Stick are available. It comes with Chrome and Firefox extensions, a Linux client, and support for a variety of routers. Surfshark VPN’s main feature is a virtual private network (VPN) service that focuses on privacy, but the company also offers a variety of extra security features in addition to simply encrypting your data. Whitelister, for example, is a split tunneling application that lets you send most traffic via the VPN “tunnel” while directing certain traffic outside of it. The site provides clear examples of when you might wish to turn this on and how to do so.
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