NordVPN extends cybersecurity empire with cyber insurance

NordVPN running on an Android smartphone being held in one hand

Users of one of the best VPN services on the market can now get compensation when they fall victims of a cyberattack.

NordVPN has just added some new cyber insurance benefits to the top tier of its VPN subscription. The provider has partnered with some select insurance companies in a continuous effort "to bridge the cyber protection gap and support its customers affected by cybercriminals."

At the time of writing, all subscribers of NordVPN Ultimate (previously Complete) bundle plan based either in the UK or US can take advantage of this extra protection at no added cost.

What are NordVPN's cybersecurity insurance benefits?

"While cybersecurity and privacy tools help to protect internet users from a technical perspective, human error remains an essential factor in cybersecurity, and no one is fully protected from scams," said Tomas Okman, co-founder and co-CEO at Nord Security. 

The tactics used by cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated, Okman also pointed out, especially as AI gets widespread. This means that even cyber-savvy users can easily fall for a scam. The rise of phishing attacks as well as data breaches in 2023 confirm such a trend. 

Specifically, a recent NordVPN survey found out that almost five million Brits got scammed this Black Friday. Overall, 24% of the UK population has experienced an online shopping scam (approximately 12 million people) with one in five victims suffering a financial loss exceeding £1,000. 

On the other side of the ocean, hackers seem to be keener on identity fraud. As NordVPN's research revealed, that at least five million people in the US have had their online identities stolen and sold on bot markets. 

Luckily, victims in both these countries now have a way to be reimbursed for some of their financial loss with new NordVPN's insurance benefits. 

UK customers can claim reimbursements of up to £5,000 in a 12-month period, if they have not been able to recover the lost money via their bank, credit card company, or other finance provider. Those living in the US, can ask for up to $1 million for expenses incurred in the process of restoring their identity and up to $100k if affected by cyber extortion, for example, if they become victims of ransomware.

NordVPN's new cyber insurance is yet another step into the provider's mission to secure their customers at best as online threats evolve.

In August, it launched NordLabs to provide a platform for engineers and developers to test new ideas and approaches to ever-changing online security and privacy issues. Released a month later, Sonar was the first experimental project harvesting the power of AI to fight back against phishing.

As mentioned, the new cyber insurance is now available for all NordVPN Ultimate subscribers based in the UK and US for no extra cost. For a monthly cost of less than $6, the bundle also includes a password manager tool, NordPass, and other advanced features, including 1TB of encrypted cloud storage. 

"With cyber protection benefits backed by insurance in our product bundle, we aim to complement our technological solutions, bridge the cyber protection gap, and support our customers who were affected by cyberattacks," said Okman.

Disclaimer

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

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Chiara Castro
Senior Staff Writer

Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life—wherever cybersecurity, markets and politics tangle up. She mainly writes news, interviews and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, cybercrime, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar Pro, TechRadar and Tom’s Guide. Got a story, tip-off or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to chiara.castro@futurenet.com