Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) help you surf the internet much more safely and openly by establishing an encrypted connection between your device and the network, preserving your privacy and anonymity online. Although there are many VPN service providers in the market, NordVPN remains a popular choice for a lot of people. Now, it seems like the company is looking towards AI to improve its VPN service.
NordLabs: Platform for Next-gen Innovations
In an official blog post, NordVPN has announced the formation of the NordLabs platform that will offer a technological “playground” for NordVPN engineers and developers to creatively experiment with new-age technological innovations. The core ideology behind NordLabs lies in NordVPN’s continued commitment to providing world-class VPN services and possibly infusing the same with Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities moving forward.
For the uninformed, NordVPN is one of the most sought-after VPN services in the market. With features like 256-bit AES military-grade encryption, 5,000+ servers, a strict no-logs policy, the ability to connect to two VPN services at once, competitive pricing, and much more, Nord VPN offers some of the best security solutions in the market to keep you protected online.
And now, with the launch of NordLabs, NordVPN aims to mitigate innovative challenges to offer “more digital confidence.“ By infusing AI, NordVPN can potentially build on its existing VPN service infrastructure to provide better connection speeds and reliability, better encryption protocols, detection and mitigation of AI-based threats, and much more.
Upcoming AI-Backed NordVPN Products
The first AI-infused products from NordLabs that you will be able to try and test are Sonar and Pixray. Both these tools are cybersecurity offerings that will help you avoid and detect potential risks of AI manipulation and misinformation. You can expect to test them as early as September 2023.
Using Sonar, you will be able to detect phishing emails and stay protected from phishing scams. This tool will become available as a browser extension that you can install and use to scan your emails. Once detected, the tool will flag potential phishing emails and will even validate its decision by highlighting the key trigger aspects of the mail. It will even suggest different ways in which you can spot a phishing email in the future.
Pixray will help you unblur the lines between real images and AI-generated images. Using Pixray, you will be able to determine the authenticity of an image by simply uploading it onto the platform. The tool will scan the image and if any AI intervention is detected, the tool will inform you about the platform the image has been generated on and even the prompts used to do so.
If NordVPN’s AI vision interests you, it is possible for you to gain firsthand access to upcoming and future NordLabs products. Simply visit the NordLabs by NordVPN website to join the waitlist. Once you sign up, NordVPN will mail you an invitation link whenever a new feature or product goes live for you. This will not only provide you with the opportunity to test out these experimental products but also share your feedback and inputs that can potentially shape future offerings from NordLabs.
NordVPN further states that since these products will be made available in the form of early developmental tools, it is likely for you to encounter flaws and false positives.