Almost a third (30%) of the world’s top virtual private network (VPN) providers are secretly owned by six Chinese companies, according to a study by privacy and security research firm VPNpro.
The study shows that the top 97 VPNs are run by just 23 parent companies, many of which are based in countries with lax privacy laws.
Six of these companies are based in China and collectively offer 29 VPN services, but in many cases, information on the parent company is hidden to consumers.
Researchers at VPNpro have pieced together ownership information through company listings, geolocation data, the CVs of employees and other documentation.
In some instances, ownership of different VPNs is split amongst a number of subsidiaries. For example, Chinese company Innovative Connecting owns three separate businesses that produce VPN apps: Autumn Breeze 2018, Lemon Cove and All Connected. In total, Innovative Connecting produces 10 seemingly unconnected VPN products, the study shows.
Although the ownership of a number of VPN services by one company is not unusual, VPNpro is concerned that so many are based in countries with lax or non-existence privacy laws.
For example, seven of the top VPN services are owned by Gaditek, based in Pakistan. This means the Pakistani government can legally access any data without a warrant and data can also be freely handed over to foreign institutions, according to VPNpro.
The ability to access the data held by VPN providers, the researchers said, could enable governments or other organisations to identify users and their activity online. This potentially puts human rights activists, privacy advocates, investigative journalists and whistleblowers in jeopardy.
This lack of privacy, the study notes, extends to ordinary consumers, who are also coming under greater government surveillance.
“We’re not accusing any of these companies of doing anything underhand. However, we are concerned that so many VPN providers are not fully transparent about who owns them and where they are based,” said Laura Kornelija Inamedinova, research analyst at VPNpro.
Source: Top VPNs secretly owned by Chinese firms
Robin Edgar
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