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VPN encryption: your gateway to secure internet

Secure your personal data and stay private online with Surfshark’s industry-leading VPN encryption.

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What is VPN encryption?

VPN encryption is a process that enciphers data transmitted between your device and a VPN server to secure it.

When you connect to a VPN, an encryption key is generated, which is used to encode and decode the data. No one besides you has that key, so even if a third party tried to intercept your connection, your encrypted data would look like useless nonsense to them.

Strong encryption is crucial to any VPN. That’s why trustworthy VPN service providers, including Surfshark, use AES-256 encryption — one of the most effective encryption algorithms to date. Along with AES-256 encryption for OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols, Surfshark uses equally effective ChaCha20 encryption for the WireGuard protocol.

Why is encryption needed?

Encrypting your online activities is beneficial for two main reasons — it increases your security and protects your privacy.

Secure your data

If your connection gets intercepted, hackers can access sensitive data, like your personally identifiable information, passwords, banking details, and more. VPN encryption scrambles that information and makes it unreadable to prying eyes.

Stay private

Every time you’re on the internet, your online activity — including clicks, scrolls, and swipes — can be tracked and collected by internet service providers (ISPs), websites, governments, and data brokers. A secure VPN connection encrypts your internet traffic, allowing you to stay private.

What types of encryption exist?

There are two types of encryption commonly used — symmetric encryption and asymmetric encryption.

Symmetric encryption is the oldest kind of cipher, dating back to Roman times, and is relatively easy to explain.

If two entities want to communicate with each other using symmetric encryption, they need to encrypt and decrypt the message using the same encryption key — hence, the name symmetrical.

Asymmetric encryption, or public key encryption, uses two sets of encryption keys: public and private keys. This public-private key pairing means that data is encrypted with a public key and can only be decrypted with a matching private key.

If you want to interact using public key encryption, you can encrypt the message using the recipient’s public key, which is available in a public directory. The message can then be decrypted only by the receiver with their paired private key.

As for VPN encryption, nowadays, VPN protocols combine and implement both encryption types. They use asymmetric encryption to establish communication between the VPN client and server and then safely exchange the keys during symmetric encryption (the AES-256 or ChaCha20 encryption protocol part).

AES encryption protocol

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is among the most sophisticated encryption protocols trusted by cybersecurity specialists and governments worldwide.

AES is a block cipher, meaning it splits data into smaller blocks and uses different cryptographic keys for each block. The keys can be of various lengths — 128, 192, or 256 bits — and the longer the encryption key, the harder it is to crack.

AES-256 encryption has become the standard in the cybersecurity world and is also used by Surfshark. Even with the fastest supercomputers available today, it would take insurmountable amounts of time to try all the possible combinations (2^256) to crack it through a brute-force attack.

ChaCha20 encryption protocol

ChaCha20 is one of the most widely used encryption algorithms. It is secure, fast, and applicable for a wide range of uses.

ChaCha20 is a stream cipher, meaning that it encrypts data in a continuous stream, bit by bit, and it uses a 256-bit key for encryption and decryption. This combination provides speed and security.

The design of ChaCha20 makes it one of the fastest encryption algorithms, exceptionally secure, and highly implementable, rendering it a perfect choice for VPNs.

How does VPN encryption work?

Step 1: Asymmetric key exchange

Encryption starts with a handshake — a secure connection verification — between your device and a VPN server. During this handshake, two encryption keys are created: a public key and a private key (asymmetric encryption).

The public key is sent to the server and encrypts your data, which can only be decrypted with your private key.

Step 2: Symmetric key exchange

Asymmetric encryption is followed by symmetric encryption — a process where a new and unique key is created.

In symmetric key encryption, the same key is used to encrypt and decrypt data, while a new and unique key is created every few minutes for each session. This ensures that even if your encrypted channel was compromised in the previous step, your data stays secure, since each session would have to be decrypted separately to access your data.

Step 3: The encryption algorithm

In this next stage, the encryption algorithm uses the symmetric key created in the previous step to encrypt all your data.

Step 4: Integrity algorithms

Integrity algorithms complete the last step, verifying that the data wasn’t interfered with during transit.

Surfshark VPN protocols

A VPN protocol is a set of rules indicating the steps in creating and maintaining a VPN connection, including encryption. Surfshark offers only the most reliable protocols:

WireGuard®

WireGuard® has only 4,000 lines of code, which is easier to manage and scale and makes it less vulnerable to security threats. The lightweight structure also allows high-speed connections and provides top-notch security.

IKEv2

IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange version 2) — a fast and secure protocol that’s undergone many improvements. This protocol provides some of the safest connections and is popular among mobile users thanks to its speed and on-demand network switching.

OpenVPN

OpenVPN is an open-sourced protocol that’s been globally approved by security experts. Although a little bulkier than WireGuard® and IKEv2, it’s the only one that many routers support by default.

How can your data be exposed?

Your data is at risk of being exposed, even if you’re being cautious online.

Internet service providers

All your internet traffic data passes through your ISP’s (Internet Service Provider) servers, which is how they can see everything you do online. Your ISP can track and log your online activities or sell this information to data brokers.

Insecure Wi-Fi networks

Public networks, such as your local coffee shop’s Wi-Fi, are usually unsecured, making them very easy to intercept. Hackers can use the vulnerabilities of such networks to steal your sensitive data and personal information.

Cyberattacks

There are many types of cyberattacks, including man-in-the-middle attacks, remote hacking, and more. During these attacks, your unencrypted internet traffic can be intercepted or your real IP address can be used to access your device or network.

Get market-leading encryption with Surfshark!

If you don’t use VPN encryption, you risk leaving your traffic exposed to ISPs, hackers, advertisers, and other snooping third parties, who can access your unprotected data in both legal and illegal ways.
VPN encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP address, which helps keep your location, browsing history, and visited websites private. Even if hackers get a hold of your data, VPN encryption makes it unintelligible, therefore useless to criminals.
VPN encryption allows you to improve your security and stay private online — and you can do that with Surfshark VPN’s state-of-the-art encryption.

Frequently asked questions

What is VPN encryption?

VPN encryption is the process of scrambling your online data to make it unintelligible and unusable to unauthorized third parties. Using a VPN encrypts your web activity and IP address, ensuring that if anyone intercepts your traffic, they cannot decrypt that data. VPN encryption makes your online activities secure, private, and anonymous.

Does a VPN encrypt data?

A VPN encrypts all data sent and received between your device and a VPN server. When you connect to a VPN, a secure tunnel is established, and all your internet traffic is sent through it, encrypting all the passing data.

How do you check if your VPN is encrypted?

Reputable VPNs provide encrypted connections by default, but if you want to test your VPN encryption, you can do it with one of these tools: GlassWire or WireShark. These tools are free to download and use. Once you take the steps needed for either program, you’ll be able to see if your VPN is routing traffic securely.

VPN encryption: your gateway to secure internet

What is VPN encryption?