Interview: We spoke to NordVPN on the importance of International VPN Day

"Virtual private network (VPN) was invented in 1993 and since then has become an essential cybersecurity tool for anyone who cares about their cybersecurity. In fact, at the moment, there are 142 million VPN users in the US alone and, according to Google Trends, the demand is growing constantly. In fact, over the past eight years, interest in VPNs has doubled.

Naturally, we wanted to create an event for everyone to celebrate a product, which is becoming more and more mainstream among users and helps them stay private and safe on the internet.

Another reason to have this event now is the rising number of cybercrime. In March 2020, when the first lockdowns came into force, hackers started taking advantage of the confusion (and lowered security protocols connected to people working at home) to cause all kinds of harm. So, we think that it would benefit all of us to review our cybersecurity knowledge and learn more."

"The primary goal of International VPN Day is to bring more attention to privacy, security, and freedom on the internet and educate people around the world about the importance of having a VPN. We want more cybersecurity brands and enthusiasts to join us in this celebration.

"This celebration is not about NordVPN in particular. It is about the importance of cybersecurity in general, and VPN is a very important part of a private and secure internet. We hope that next year more cybersecurity brands will join us in this celebration."

"This year, we are preparing educational content on our social media and website for anyone interested in the celebration. We also want to establish a tradition of taking the National Privacy Test once a year on this occasion so users could evaluate their knowledge and then learn more about cybersecurity.

If this year’s event is successful, we plan to organize more educational activities next year."

"The success could be measured only long-term, as the main goal is to educate people around the world about the benefits of VPNs and cybersecurity in general. So, only time will tell if the event contributes to the goal of a more digitally aware society."

"Data Privacy Day is a day to bring awareness to users’ privacy online. International VPN Day is not only about privacy, but security as well. A virtual private network is one of the best ways to fight for online freedom and security. It protects internet users from surveillance, censorship, and cybercrime."

"Seeing the constant growth of VPN products, we think that, in the future, using a virtual private network will become mainstream. Also, big names like Google, CloudFlare, or Firefox entering the VPN arena suggests the solidity and importance of the market.

So, as people educate themselves and understand the value of privacy and a secure internet more and more, they will use VPNs to the point when it becomes as commonplace as having an antivirus."