Virtual private network (VPN) provider Surfshark announced Tuesday that it is shutting down its servers in India in response to a government directive that forces VPN service providers to record and keep user logs for 180 days and collect and retain customers for five years The data. The Netherlands-based company said it operates under a strict “no logs” policy, so the government’s new requirements run counter to its “core ethos”. Last week, ExpressVPN took down its VPN servers in the country in response to a government order. [1]

Figure 1. Surfshark Decides to Shut Down VPN Servers in India

Figure 1 shows surfshark mentioned that its bodily servers in India would be shut down earlier than the brand new legislation comes into energy. The corporate determined to introduce its digital Indian servers as a substitute of the bodily servers within the nation that will probably be situated in Singapore and London. The digital servers can have an Indian IP to supply the identical performance, however with out being bodily situated within the nation.

The transfer by Surfshark is much like ExpressVPN that final week removed its VPN servers in India and began providing digital Indian servers to its customers. [2]

The company also underlined that its users in India who do not use Indian servers would not notice any differences.

“A VPN is an online privacy tool, and Surfshark was founded to make it as easy to use for the common users as possible. The infrastructure that Surfshark runs on has been configured in a way that respects the privacy of our users, and we will not compromise our values – or our technical base,” said Gytis Malinauskas, Head of Legal at Surfshark, in a prepared statement. [3]

Citing its internal data, Surfshark said that since 2004, 14.9 billion accounts have been leaked online — of which, 254.9 million are of users from India.

India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) passed the order requiring VPN service providers to keep a log of their users for at least five years and sharing them with authorities when required. It will come into force from June 27.

Shortly after the government's order became public, various VPN service providers expressed their dissent. NordVPN parent Nord Security was amongst the first ones to hint to remove its servers from the country if no other options are provided. [4]

References:

1. https://www.technologyshout.com/after-expressvpn-surfshark-decides-to-shut-down-vpn-servers-in-india-on-government-order/
2. https://dimkts.com/after-expressvpn-surfshark-decides-to-shut-down-vpn-servers-in-india-over-governments-order/
3. https://m.thelocalreport.in/after-expressvpn-surfshark-decides-to-shut-down-vpn-servers-in-india-over-governments-order/
4. https://gadgets360.com/internet/news/surfshark-vpn-servers-india-remove-shut-down-government-order-3046324#pfrom=topstory

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Surfshark Decides to Shut Down VPN Servers in India, Anatechmaz, pp. 76