Insufficient
NordVPN
Paying monthly
$14.99 per month
Paying yearly
$139.08 billed once a year
Coverage
149 countries with an exit
Free tier
No paid plans only
Security
Usability
NordVPN was assessed by the HushFleet team and placed in the Insufficient band, with a security score of 17/100 and a usability score of 70/100. In the overall security ranking of VPN providers it ranks 12 of 68. Commercial VPN, company jurisdiction Panama. It reports an independent security audit on its own word: the report is behind a non-disclosure agreement, evidence level B.
7 fields sit on this record without entering the score, and the contract says so in the field itself: scored: false. They are here because a reader asking who owns this company, or who signed the audit, is asking something the record answers — and because a value that never touches the arithmetic should be visibly outside it rather than quietly mixed in.
Every country the provider offers an exit location in, counted from its own server page: 149. There are no per-country server counts here and no fleet total anywhere on the site — the contract carries neither, and a number nobody can source is worse than an absent one. The 6 countries marked mandate impose data retention; that mark comes from the methodology’s own country table, not from the provider.
Alternatives
NordVPN
Visit siteInsufficient
Paying monthly
$14.99 per month
Paying yearly
$139.08 billed once a year
Coverage
149 countries with an exit
Free tier
No paid plans only
Security
Usability
| Offered countries that sit under a logging mandateC09_mandate_countries | United Arab EmiratesIndiaIraqKazakhstanTurkeyVietnam |
|---|---|
| Country of the ultimate beneficial ownerM11_owner_jurisdiction | unknown |
| Owner group cluster keyM15_owner_group | nord security |
| Date the current owner took controlM16_control_since | 2012 |
| Role of this brand inside the groupM17_brand_role | principal |
| Infrastructure shared with cluster siblingsM18_shared_infrastructure | separate |
| Total published auditsV10_audit_count | 6 |
Coverage147countries
Paying monthly$9.99monthly
Paying yearly$53.88yearly total
Free tierYeslimited free plan
Devices10at once
Security
Usability
Coverage50countries
Paying monthly$5.69monthly
Paying yearly$69.60yearly total
Free tierNopaid plans only
Devices5at once
Security
Usability
Coverage41countries
Paying monthly$6.00monthly
Paying yearly$60.00yearly total
Free tierNopaid plans only
Devices5at once
Security
Usability
| Service class | Commercial VPN — security leads |
|---|---|
| Security score | 17 of 100 · Insufficient |
| Usability score | 70 of 100 · state known · 83% established · 88.2% of the weight read |
| Legal entity | nordvpn S.A. |
| Jurisdiction | Panama |
| Ultimate owner | Nord Security |
| Exposure | Medium · dominant channel: retention |
| Retention | Aggregate counts only |
| Latest audit | Deloitte Audit Lithuania · 12 Dec 2025 · An annual series · unknown |
| Countries with exits | 149 |
| Protocols | A WireGuard-derived protocolOpenVPNAn obfuscated protocol |
| Works under active censorship | Claimed to work |
| Weakest protocol still offered | not applicable |
| Own DNS inside the tunnel | unknown |
| Platforms | WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOSBrowser extensionAndroid TVApple TV |
| Simultaneous devices | 10 |
| Kill switch | On every platform |
| Split tunnelling | Available |
| Signing up | unknown |
| Free tier | No free tier |
| P2P allowed | Allowed |
| Major streaming services reachable | unknown |
| Price, monthly | $14.99 per month |
| Price, yearly | $139.08 a year at renewal, billed once |
13 Sep 20261 changes
Why this provider is in the catalogueM14_inclusion_basis
hand_picked changed to adverse_record
30 Aug 20261 changes
Weakest protocol still offeredC13_weakest_protocol
wireguard_derived changed to not on the record
29 Aug 20268 changes
Weakest protocol still offeredC13_weakest_protocol
not on the record changed to wireguard_derived
Servers in the fleet, as claimedU03_network_size
8250 changed to not on the record
Fastest protocol offeredU07_modern_protocol
wireguard_derived changed to not on the record
Protocols offeredU07_protocols
not on the record changed to wireguard_derived
Actual disclosure historyP02_disclosure_history
not on the record changed to account_data_disclosed
Court record of compelled productionP03_court_record
not on the record changed to produced_account_data
Response to a national logging mandateP04_mandate_response
not on the record changed to withdrew_physical
Transparency reportP05_transparency_report
not on the record changed to fresh_with_numbers
29 Aug 202615 changes
Reported numbers plausible for this scaleP06_report_plausibility
not on the record changed to plausible
Warrant canary disciplineP07_warrant_canary
not on the record changed to removed
Requests received in periodP08_requests_received
not on the record changed to 85
Requests where data was providedP09_data_provided
not on the record changed to 0
Secret-order regime in the incorporation countryP11_gag_order_regime
not on the record changed to none_known
Chronology of documented enforcement eventsP12_case_history
{"date":"2018-03","kind":"breach","outcome":"nothing_produced","source_url":"https://nordvpn.com/blog/official-response-datacenter-breach/"} changed to {"date":"2018-03","kind":"breach","outcome":"nothing_produced","source_url":"https://nordvpn.com/blog/official-response-datacenter-breach/"}, {"date":"2024-10","kind":"court_order","outcome":"account_data","source_url":"https://nordvpn.com/blog/nordvpn-introduces-transparency-reports/"}
Security score
13 changed to 17
Security verdictsecurity.verdict
not_recommended changed to insufficient
Yearly plan price USD, first term as chargedU04b_price_yearly
not on the record changed to 139.08
Weakest protocol still offeredC13_weakest_protocol
wireguard_derived changed to not on the record
Protocols offeredU07_protocols
wireguard_derived changed to not on the record
Usability scoreusability.score
70 changed to 66
Weakest protocol still offeredC13_weakest_protocol
not on the record changed to wireguard_derived
Protocols offeredU07_protocols
not on the record changed to wireguard_derived, openvpn, obfuscated
Usability scoreusability.score
66 changed to 70
28 Aug 20267 changes
Why this provider is in the catalogueM14_inclusion_basis
market_incumbent, install_scale changed to hand_picked
Security scoresecurity.score
16 changed to 15
Security scoresecurity.score
15 changed to 13
Security verdictsecurity.verdict
insufficient changed to not_recommended
App store data declaration against the provider's own policyX12_store_data_declaration
not on the record changed to matches_policy
Retention linkable to a person as declaredC01_linkable_retention
none_linkable changed to aggregates_only
Usability stateusability.state
not on the record changed to known
27 Aug 20261 changes
How the report is publishedV02_report_publication
press_only changed to nda_gated
Eight channels, each asking one question of the published record and reading a named set of fields to answer it. They multiply rather than add — the factor beside a channel is what is left after the pressure it found, and open a channel to see every field it read, as it is stored. How the model works
Security fields
67 55 of them feed a channel
Established
47 19 left unknown, 1 not applicable
Completeness
69% the share the model could weigh
Citations
65 across 21 documents
Every value carries what it rests on, and the model weighs the four levels differently. Weight, then how many citations on this record sit at that level:
B weighs 0.85 · 58 hereC weighs 0.70 · 7 here
The weights are methodology.json’s own; a claim seen in the artefact itself counts for more than the same claim reported second-hand. The date at the end of a row is the day that value was last read.
A channel does not price every field it reads. The ones it did are marked along their edge and carry what they added; everything else was read and cost nothing. Only a channel that composes field by field can mark a field at all — the rest price themselves by the parameters printed above their rows.
Still open on this record.
The two prices. U04b_price_yearly=139.08 and U04_price_monthly=14.99 are the Basic-tier renewal figures in USD, read off nordvpn.com/pricing on a US IP (the page geo-locks currency; the one-year plan advertises $5.49/mo for the first 12 months, then $139.08/year).
The transparency page, re-read. The P-block was re-read against NordVPN's transparency page (nordvpn.com/blog/nordvpn-introduces-transparency-reports/, updated daily): in October 2024 a binding warrant from the Panamanian prosecutor's office compelled NordVPN to hand over payment data and confirmation that an account existed for a given e-mail — the only lifetime disclosure on record (P02/P03/P12).
The canary, and the quarter that replaced it. The same page retired the warrant canary (P07=removed) for quarterly transparency reports; the latest complete quarter (Apr–Jun 2026) shows 85 government inquiries and 0 disclosures, so P08/P09 are that period, not the lifetime figure.
India, and the secret-order regime. P04=withdrew_physical is the June 2022 India exit. P11=none_known rests on the page's statement that NordVPN has received no binding National Security letters or gag orders and on Panama's absence of such a regime.
An assurance level nobody can check. NordVPN describes the Deloitte Lithuania engagement as a reasonable assurance engagement under ISAE 3000 (Revised), which would be the stronger form; PIA's report, which can be read, states a limited assurance conclusion.
Why the stronger form is not credited. The model now prices that difference, and this record does not get the benefit of it: V15_assurance_strength is unknown because the only statement of the level is NordVPN's own, about a report nobody outside a Nord Account can open. A document behind a login is not evidence here at any level, so the engagement is credited at the market norm rather than at the level it is said to have reached.
A report behind a login. The report itself is readable only after signing in to a Nord Account, so nobody outside that relationship has checked its scope, and every audit field here rests on NordVPN's own summary of it rather than on the document. That, and not a finding against the service, is why this record is the thinnest in the catalogue.
The owner fields. M11_owner_jurisdiction and X04_owner_group_history are unknown: nordvpn.com and nordsecurity.com name Nord Security as owner but neither states Nord Security's own jurisdiction of incorporation or any prior record for the group; secondary press ties a 'Cyberspace' holding entity to the Netherlands from the 2022 merger, but that was not confirmed against a primary Nord Security or NordVPN page in the time available.
What could not be read at all. The full text of the 2025 Deloitte report cannot be read at all (login-gated), so no retention finding is recorded beyond the policy's own claim in C01_linkable_retention.
The server table that would not open. C09b_mandate_hosting is unknown: the live per-country server table shows physical/virtual status only for the Americas region in the accordion state this audit could render; Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa/Middle East sections (which include several mandate countries the fleet serves, e.g. AE, IN, TR, VN, IQ, KZ per the servers API) load client-side on click and were not expanded.
Left unknown rather than asserted. C04-C07, U06 (censorship proof), U11, V12-V14, X06, X07, X10 and X11 were not independently confirmed against a primary document and are left unknown rather than asserted from secondary coverage.
One doubt left open, and not charged. One doubt stays open on X12 without being charged: the Play data safety form for com.nordvpn.android declares Installed apps under analytics on Android, while the NordVPN privacy notice mentions installed applications in one place only — the anti-malware vulnerability scan — and scopes the processing of application names and versions to Windows.
Why it still reads as a match. The category is disclosed rather than absent, and R28 does not make a finding out of a platform scope difference, so the value reads matches_policy; but the Android purpose is not the one the notice describes, and only NordVPN can say which of the two is written wrong.
On the record as a whole.
nordvpn.com itself returns a Cloudflare bot-challenge (403) to every non-browser fetch used in this audit, including a headless-fetch tool; every citation to a nordvpn.com page in this record was retrieved through a third-party reader proxy (r.jina.ai) that renders the page server-side, not through a direct request to the domain.
Legal documents (privacy policy, terms) live on a separate domain, my.nordaccount.com, not discoverable from nordvpn.com's own sitemap — reached only by following the footer link on a rendered page. The sixth Deloitte no-logs assurance report (issued 2025-12-12) is explicitly login-gated per NordVPN's own blog post ('we don't publish excerpts publicly... log in to your Nord Account'), so V11_audit_findings is recorded as not_stated rather than inferring a retention finding from the announcement's summary, per R23.
The 2018 Finland datacenter breach was a third-party intrusion, not a law-enforcement seizure — recorded under P12_case_history as kind=breach, not P01_seizure_event. NordVPN's own account (nordvpn.com/blog/official-response-datacenter-breach/) and Bloomberg's contemporaneous coverage agree the disclosure followed Twitter allegations by outside researchers, not NordVPN's own initiative — hence third_party_disclosed rather than self_disclosed_late.
NordVPN and Surfshark share a parent (Nord Security) but both companies' own merger announcement states separate infrastructure and product roadmaps; M18 is set to separate on that basis.
Composed rather than added: a prior of 0.55 on the silent branch, moved by what the paper says (0.0374) and by what the practice shows (0.3005), at credence 0.3173 from the audit and 0.85 from how the provider engaged, against a severity of 0.08 for what is actually retained.
Retention linkable to a person as declaredmaterialC01_linkable_retention
aggregates_only
Bmy.nordaccount.com28 Aug 2026
Report a problem with C01_linkable_retentionPersistent device identifier the provider holdsC12_device_identifier
resettable_ad_id
Bmy.nordaccount.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with C12_device_identifierComputed
×0.172 of a clean record completeness 69%
Where the drop comes from: Retention. It is the channel this record's risk is concentrated in — on its own it takes a clean record to ×0.550, and its bar above is filled to that.
Exposure is recorded as medium and the integrity status as clean.
Against the rest of the register, this record sits furthest above on Jurisdiction — ×0.921 where the register averages ×0.680 — and furthest below on Disclosure, ×0.780 against ×0.970.
Published score
17Every row above is one field of the published record, and every one of them can be challenged: every row carries Report, or raise something about the record as a whole. A correction with a source behind it is made the same day, and if it moves the score it moves the rank.
How the report is publishedV02_report_publication
nda_gated
Bnordvpn.com28 Aug 2026
Report a problem with V02_report_publicationSubject of the latest auditV03_audit_subject
no_logsinfrastructure
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with V03_audit_subjectServer fleet coverageV04_scope_servers
sample
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with V04_scope_serversAssurance standardV07_audit_standard
isae3000
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with V07_audit_standardDate of latest reportmaterialV08_audit_date_latest
2025-12-12
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with V08_audit_date_latestAudit cadenceV09_audit_regularity
annual_series
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with V09_audit_regularityWhat the report states is retainedV11_audit_findings
not_stated
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with V11_audit_findingsStrength of the assurance opinionV15_assurance_strength
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Chronology of documented enforcement eventsP12_case_history
2018-03breach→nothing_produced2024-10court_order→account_data
Bnordvpn.comCtechcrunch.comCbloomberg.comBnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P12_case_historyWhat this channel priced on this record:Incident handling 0.2Owner transparency 0.06
User base scale (mass >=10M, mid >=1M, niche <1M)also read by silenceM08_user_scale
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Other businesses of the owner groupM10_owner_other_business
app_portfolio
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with M10_owner_other_businessTransparency reportalso read by ignorance, silenceP05_transparency_report
fresh_with_numbers
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P05_transparency_reportReported numbers plausible for this scalealso read by ignoranceP06_report_plausibility
plausible
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P06_report_plausibilityDocumented gap between claim and behaviourX01_documented_lie
none
nothing published · recorded as asserted27 Aug 2026
Marketing versus audit findingsX02_claim_gap
none
nothing published · recorded as asserted27 Aug 2026
Ownership structure transparencyX03_owner_transparency
partial
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with X03_owner_transparencyAdverse events on the owner group recordX04_owner_group_history
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
How the service is paid forX05_monetisation_model
paid_only
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with X05_monetisation_modelClaims of 100% anonymity or military-grade cryptoX06_absolute_claims
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Aggressive lifetime subscriptionsX07_lifetime_push
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Coverage exists only on affiliate sitesX08_affiliate_only_reviews
no
Ctechcrunch.comCbloomberg.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with X08_affiliate_only_reviewsSecurity incident and how it was disclosedalso read by ignoranceX09_incident_handling
third_party_disclosed
Cbloomberg.comCnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with X09_incident_handlingAffiliate programme and payout tierX10_affiliate_program
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Owner-run review media discloses the tieX11_review_media_disclosure
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
App store data declaration against the provider's own policyX12_store_data_declaration
matches_policy
Bapps.apple.comBplay.google.comBmy.nordaccount.comBmy.nordaccount.com28 Aug 2026
Report a problem with X12_store_data_declarationServer seizure by law enforcementalso read by silenceP01_seizure_event
none_known
nothing published · recorded as asserted27 Aug 2026
Actual disclosure historyP02_disclosure_history
account_data_disclosed+0.220
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P02_disclosure_historyCourt record of compelled productionalso read by silenceP03_court_record
produced_account_data+0.220
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P03_court_recordWarrant canary disciplinealso read by ignoranceP07_warrant_canary
removed
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P07_warrant_canaryRequests received in periodP08_requests_received
85
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P08_requests_receivedRequests where data was providedP09_data_provided
0
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P09_data_providedPriced from what is missing: 0.69 of the weighted record is established, on a slope of 0.9 under a cap of 0.6, with a posture of 0.7 relieved by 0.4.
Record completenessS08_completeness
69%
derived from the record itself
Response to a national logging mandatealso read by jurisdictionP04_mandate_response
withdrew_physical
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P04_mandate_responseTransparency reportalso read by integrity, silenceP05_transparency_report
fresh_with_numbers
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P05_transparency_reportReported numbers plausible for this scalealso read by integrityP06_report_plausibility
plausible
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P06_report_plausibilityWarrant canary disciplinealso read by disclosureP07_warrant_canary
removed
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P07_warrant_canarySecurity incident and how it was disclosedalso read by integrityX09_incident_handling
third_party_disclosed
Cbloomberg.comCnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with X09_incident_handlingWhat this channel priced on this record:Price 0.15
Who operates the exitC00_architecture
contractor_operated+0.150
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with C00_architectureWhat the exit does to passing trafficC14_traffic_modification
unknown+0.050
nothing published · recorded as asserted
A capped sum — the one channel that adds: 0.147 of a possible 0.28, from the fields marked below.
RAM-only diskless serversC02_ram_only
yes_declared+0.015
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with C02_ram_onlyIP allocation modelC03_ip_sharing
dedicated_option+0.010
Bnordvpn.comBmy.nordaccount.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with C03_ip_sharingSignup without emailC04_signup_no_email
unknown+0.012
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Anonymous payment optionsC05_payment_anonymous
unknown+0.012
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Own DNS inside the tunnelC06_own_dns_in_tunnel
unknown+0.012
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Worst third-party SDK category in the appC07a_app_sdk
unknown+0.018
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Worst third-party tracker category on the siteC07b_site_trackers
unknown+0.009
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Who owns the hardwareC08_servers_ownership
rented+0.020
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with C08_servers_ownershipWeakest protocol still offeredC13_weakest_protocol
not applicable
Bsupport.nordvpn.comBsupport.nordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with C13_weakest_protocolClient source code publishedV12_client_open_source
unknown+0.018
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Reproducible buildsV13_reproducible_builds
unknown+0.014
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Separate client or infrastructure pentestV14_pentest_exists
unknown+0.007
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Where the company sits 0.0, where its owner sits 0.03, the exits it offers 0.05, the gag-order regime 0.0.
Hosting in the mandate countries it offersC09b_mandate_hosting
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Incorporation country mandates retentionC10_company_under_mandate
no
nothing published · recorded as asserted27 Aug 2026
Beneficial owner sits under a retention regimeC11_owner_under_mandate
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Response to a national logging mandatealso read by ignoranceP04_mandate_response
withdrew_physical
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P04_mandate_responseSecret-order regime in the incorporation countryP11_gag_order_regime
none_known
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P11_gag_order_regime14 years in operation at 0.015 a year under a cap of 0.3, weighted 1.0: the rule did not fire.
Year the service launchedM07_launch_year
2012
Bnordvpn.com27 Aug 2026
Report a problem with M07_launch_yearUser base scale (mass >=10M, mid >=1M, niche <1M)also read by integrityM08_user_scale
unknown
nothing published · recorded as asserted
Server seizure by law enforcementalso read by disclosureP01_seizure_event
none_known
nothing published · recorded as asserted27 Aug 2026
Court record of compelled productionalso read by disclosureP03_court_record
produced_account_data
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P03_court_recordTransparency reportalso read by integrity, ignoranceP05_transparency_report
fresh_with_numbers
Bnordvpn.com29 Aug 2026
Report a problem with P05_transparency_report