Over the past decade, AI and VPNs have emerged as two significant technologies that have increased widespread adoption. The integration of these two technologies can potentially offer VPN users an elevated level of security. Hence, how can AI affect the VPN, and are software developers already exploiting its potential?
VPN basics
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) operate by routing internet traffic through a remote server, resulting in encrypted transmission upon arrival. While encryption serves as a core component of VPNs, users can access various additional functionalities, including kill switches, onion over VPN, and geo-blocking.
Some VPNs utilize the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) to create a connection between a device and the Internet. First, what is PPTP and what role does it play? This connection is established by routing the traffic through a remote PPTP VPN server, which encrypts the data and directs it to its intended destination, such as a website. However, it’s important to note that PPTP VPN is considered outdated and less secure compared to newer options like OpenVPN or IKEv2. Nowadays you can download VPN for PC with more advanced protocols or even those that allow you to manually select one of them. VeePN has such an opportunity. If you are looking for VPN apps, then choose software with more advanced connection protocols.
Are there AI-powered VPNs now?
At the moment, there are no prominent AI VPNs available. However, it’s well-known how rapidly the tech industry is embracing AI.
Currently, companies are actively working on developing AI-integrated VPNs. When the first AI VPN appears, it will include a cutting-edge machine learning-based Intrusion Prevention System in the VPN itself. It automatically generates alerts and blocks malicious connections.
Users of this VPN will receive a comprehensive summary of their device’s traffic. The summary will highlight detected malicious patterns, privacy breaches, and security alerts. The aim is to protect and educate users about their security status and any potential risks they may face.
Despite the current absence of AI-powered features in VPNs, this advanced technology holds potential for future enhancements. So, what might these enhancements entail?
How do VPNs use AI?
#1 Smart Routing
Sometimes, when you connect to a VPN server, you may discover that it’s overwhelmed with traffic, significantly reducing your connection speed and making activities like streaming, gaming, or even regular browsing quite difficult.
With the help of AI, a VPN service can easily identify the optimal server connection for you, eliminating the frustration of slow-loading pages and buffering videos.
Additionally, AI-based routing can greatly benefit VPN users by utilizing AI to determine the most suitable local server to connect to, based on the destination server’s location.
#2 Fighting threats
Many modern VPNs offer extra security features, like monitoring the dark web, blocking tracking, and detecting malicious websites.
VPNs protect you from various online threats, such as man-in-the-middle attacks and fake Wi-Fi networks. With the help of artificial intelligence, VPN services can easily identify malware, and cyberattacks, and steer you clear of potentially harmful sites.
Moreover, VPNs can harness AI to identify and combat cyber threats based on AI. The advancement of artificial intelligence not only benefits the tech industry but also forces cybercriminals to exploit this technology to develop more sophisticated forms of malware.
#3 Hiding traffic
If you’re facing blocks from certain sites even when using a VPN, there is a reason behind it. While VPNs can encrypt most of your traffic, they cannot hide specific data. This is why streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or the BBC iPlayer can detect when you’re using a VPN and restrict access in geo-restricted countries. Many individuals use VPNs solely for accessing blocked content, so it’s crucial to address this issue.
In the future, AI could potentially enable VPN robots to encrypt all of your traffic, effectively concealing your country of origin. Consequently, you will be able to access various geo-restricted content without worrying about streaming sites detecting your intentions. If you wish, you can now install 2 tunnels at once through the Edge VPN plugin, which will allow you to be in 2 places at the same time. The browser connection will be in one place, and the remaining connections will be in another.
#4 Advanced encryption
VPNs secure data using various encryption protocols, including AES-256 and XChaCha20. While several encryption protocols exist, most VPN providers universally adopt a specific one.
However, with the help of artificial intelligence, VPNs can dynamically switch between encryption protocols when necessary. For instance, AES-256 might be suitable for one type of data, while the more efficient AES-128 would be preferable for another. Machine learning facilitates intelligent decision-making regarding when to switch between encryption protocols, depending on the data being transferred.
#5 Audits
To ensure the legitimacy of VPN services, they must undergo an independent audit. However, even notable audit agencies may overlook certain aspects due to technical or human errors.
To obtain more comprehensive and precise results, the records of a VPN should be thoroughly vetted, and its features should be assessed using artificial intelligence. For instance, AI can effectively identify software bugs or inconsistencies in a provider’s privacy policy.
#6 Analytics
VPN providers are always seeking enhancements for their services, and that’s where analytics step in. They monitor user complaints, bugs, subscriber growth, popular servers, and other metrics to optimize VPN products.
Providers can utilize artificial intelligence to monitor advanced metrics and provide more comprehensive information. Research and development already implements AI to enhance insights, making it unsurprising for VPN companies to adopt this technology to optimize user experience and overall business operations.
Final Thoughts
With cybercrime running rampant, it’s hardly surprising that discussions surrounding the integration of AI in VPN services are already underway. Currently, it appears that major VPN services are not utilizing AI. However, as companies recognize the security and privacy advantages AI brings, this scenario is likely to change.