Why VPNs are scams and what to do about it by Harry Halpin | Devcon SEA
Thu, Oct 2, 2025, 12:00 AM
Existing VPNs are essentially scams. Free VPNs and most centralized VPNs (such as ExpressVPN, owned by Kape) are effectively data harvesting companies. Decentralized VPNs usually have a few large servers and offer barely any more privacy than centralized VPNs. What is missing is 1) onion-routing packets like Tor 2) adding noise (fake traffic) 3) censorship-resistance and 4) mixing packets from different users together. We'll explore how technologies work to defeat even AI adversaries. Speaker(s): Harry Halpin Skill level: Intermediate Track: Cypherpunk & Privacy Keywords: censorship, resistance, Decentralization, Privacy, Use Cases Follow us: https://twitter.com/efdevcon, https://twitter.com/ethereum, https://warpcast.com/devcon Learn more about devcon: https://www.devcon.org/ Learn more about ethereum: https://ethereum.org/ Visit the https://archive.devcon.org/ to gain access to the entire library of Devcon talks with the ease of filtering, playlists, personalized suggestions, decentralized access on Swarm, IPFS and more. Devcon is the Ethereum conference for developers, researchers, thinkers, and makers. Devcon SEA was held in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov 12 - Nov 15, 2024. Devcon is organized and presented by the Ethereum Foundation. To find out more, please visit https://ethereum.foundation/
Speakers
Nym
CEO and co-founder of Nym Technologies, a startup building a decentralized mixnet to end mass surveillance. Formerly a research Scientist at MIT and Inria de Paris, where I led the standardization of the Web Cryptography API across all browsers. Postdoctoral studies under Bernard Stiegler in the philosophy of technology. Ph.D. in Informatics from the University of Edinburgh and also teaches cryptocurrency at the American University of Beirut.