Year in review — looking back at 2021

Standing up for online freedom

Nord Security is deeply committed to the principles of free speech and digital liberty. That’s why we partnered with The Humans Rights Foundation, among other organizations, to help protect personal privacy and freedom around the globe.

We donated many VPN accounts to individuals and organizations in need, and supported the work of Amnesty International, Humans Rights Watch, and World Wide Web Foundation.

We fought for gender equality in tech by supporting Women in Cybersecurity (WicyS), Global Women’s March, Girls of South Bay Hacks (GSBHacks), and DIY Girls. And we joined forces with Women Go Tech, a program that helps women to kickstart their careers in IT.

There’s so much more to do, but we’ll continue to work with human rights organizations and free speech advocates across the world to raise awareness around these issues, and to help everyone make their voices heard.

Cybersecurity threats continue to evolve

As well as combating censorship and internet restrictions, we’ve also been trying to protect internet users against the ongoing threat of cyberattacks.

2021 was another bumper year for hackers, with massive companies like Facebook and Twitch suffering major data breaches. In many of these incidents, a failure to implement strong cybersecurity solutions was at the root of the problem.

However, another major feature of the year was ransomware. A catastrophic ransomware attack against the Colonial Pipeline in the USA raised public awareness of the threats posed by this insidious malware, but many other companies and organizations were targeted too.

Going forward, we’ll continue to try and help individuals and businesses protect themselves against these growing dangers.

Major technical advances for NordVPN

We never stop working to improve the services we offer, and NordVPN is no exception.

In 2021, we pressed ahead with upgrades to our server network, improving stability and speed for our users. Almost 70% of our network now runs on powerful 10 Gbps servers, covering all of the US, UK, Netherlands, France, and Japan.

We introduced a new NordVPN Edge browser extension, leveraged the Nord Security bug bounty program to improve our systems, and got our VPN running natively on Apple’s silicon chip.

Awards

In 2021, Nord Security was honored with a number of awards and nominations from a wide range of highly respected organizations.

NordVPN, our flagship service, took PCMagazine’s Readers’ Choice Award, as well as Best All-Round VPN (Expert Reviews) and Best VPN of the Year (ADSLZone).

It wasn’t just NordVPN in the spotlight, of course! NordLocker, our encrypted storage tool, won Consumer Encryption Solution of the Year at the Cybersecurity Breakthrough Awards, while B2B service NordLayer was named Top Enterprise VPN by Expert Insights.

Speaking of NordLayer…

2021 was the year we introduced the world to NordLayer, our rebranded and improved B2B security solution.

Originally launched as NordVPN Teams, NordLayer has undergone a lot of development since then, incorporating new features and security layers. Consequently, we felt it was more fitting to give it a new name: NordLayer.

We also implemented NordLynx in Nordlayer, our ground-breaking encryption protocol based on WireGuard™. This allows us to provide lightning-fast speeds to our NordLayer clients, without compromising on security and privacy.

So what’s next?

2021 may have been a great year for Nord Security, but we’re not resting on our laurels. We have huge plans for the next 12 months, and are excited to continue innovating and expanding.

The dangers posed by hackers and cybercriminals will continue to grow. More digital authoritarians will clamp down on free online expression. There are many challenges ahead.

But at Nord Security, we’re ready for those challenges. We’re ready to face the future and build a better, safer internet.