Security News Dutch Authorities Seized Servers of Windscribe VPN Provider

[Parkinsond]

Content source

https://cybersecuritynews.com/windscribe-vpn-server-seized/

The server, a standard VPN node, was physically removed by law enforcement seeking potential logs tied to criminal activity. Unlike routine data requests, where Windscribe responds that it holds no user information, this marked a direct hardware confiscation.

Windscribe employs RAM-only (diskless) servers that erase all data upon power loss or reboot, reloading a pristine Ubuntu installation each time. This eliminates persistent storage of connection timestamps, IP addresses, or browsing activity, aligning with its audited no-identifying-logs policy.

Security experts note that RAM disks effectively block casual forensics but warn that advanced techniques, such as live memory dumps, if a seized device is powered on, could theoretically capture transient data, though unlikely here. Past incidents, such as the 2021 Ukraine seizures exposing unencrypted configs, prompted Windscribe’s full RAM pivot.

Dutch Authorities Seized Servers of Windscribe VPN Provider

Dutch authorities seized a Windscribe VPN server located in the Netherlands as part of an undisclosed investigation. The Canadian provider quickly highlighted how its privacy-focused design thwarted any data recovery efforts.

cybersecuritynews.com

 

[Wrecker4923]

This seizure is like, a promotional event for Windscribe.

 

[Parkinsond]

This seizure is like, a promotional event for Windscribe.

WS: We keep your data safe

 

[Divergent]

WS: We keep your data safe

No VPN provider can stop a government from entering a building in their own country. The measure of a "safe" VPN is not whether they can prevent a raid, but whether they have anything to show for it when the raid happens.

 

[Parkinsond]

No VPN provider can stop a government from entering a building in their own country. The measure of a "safe" VPN is not whether they can prevent a raid, but whether they have anything to show for it when the raid happens.

I do not use VPN; never considered it as a security measure.

 

[Miravi]

It's like a high-stakes audit.

Just last year a Greek court dismissed a case against Windscribe's founder after a two-year legal battle where the no-logs policy held up under pressure. No evidence for authorities.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

And this is the problem with physical servers in different countries, in your home country you have legal recourse and the opportunity to fight seizures but with overseas servers you have no chance and just have to take it as part of doing business offshore. This will be very interesting to see if Windscirbe's claims and defenses are actually any good. Perfect Privacy had the same thing happen too (maybe NL too) and they supposedly they got nothing, but who to believe?

The problem is even if they can get data from the seized servers they are not going to tell us are they?

 

[Parkinsond]

in your home country you have legal recourse and the opportunity to fight seizures but with overseas servers you have no chance

Here we prefer to be overseas

 

[Zero Knowledge]

Here we prefer to be overseas

Yeah if you live in a authoritarian regime that's true, but local law trumps foreign law in every country and when laws don't cover or can't be enforced local politicians create new ones to prosecute people. The difference is in those countries you get put in the back of a black van and beaten with a $5 wrench. At least in western liberal democracies you get to answer to a judge and court.

 

[Wrecker4923]

The problem is even if they can get data from the seized servers they are not going to tell us are they?

I was wondering about that. What Windscribe doesn't explicitly describe is what data is in the RAM. Suppose they were able to grab the servers that remain powered on and later image the RAM. What would they find? Theoretically, almost all users' communications with remote servers should be encrypted via HTTPS/TLS, so the contents of those communications are unreadable. What would the worst-case scenario be? A "current" record of communicating clients and remote servers? So they would need to know the current users of the VPN servers? It still seems like looking for needles in haystacks, and these guys really need to be motivated (and maybe well-resourced) to grab those records. It seems a bit obsessive for criminal cases. Maybe it’s just a criminal pretext to gather information for intelligence purposes? Haha, or maybe the purpose is just to get people using VPNs to start wondering.

I agree that, in this case, we would never know if they can grab anything useful from that. Unless it comes out in court, they would just purposely say they don't have anything.