Nym Technologies
Nym Technologies is a Swiss company that provides internet privacy technology utilizing Nym mix network and noise generation networks. Nym offers VPN and blockchain-related software and network services. Its most notable service, NymVPN, advertises itself as a VPN service for privacy and security. Nym Technologies was formed in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 2018. NymVPN was in development and testing for several years, with the public release in March 2025. It is cross-platform, free and open source software (FOSS). Developed by computer security researchers, it was presented at conferences such as Chaos Communication Congress, HOPE, and at the Free Software Foundation's LibrePlanet during its alpha-beta development and after its public release. The Nym mixnet technology was also tested at some of these events. NymVPN has undergone security audits by JP Aumasson (2021), Oak Security (2023), Cure53 (2024), and Cryspen. Nym Wallet has also been independently audited (2023). NymVPN operates separate entry and exit nodes using the AmneziaWG implementation of the WireGuard protocol on its "fast" connection mode and five-hop mixnet on "anonymous" mode and maintains no logs. It supports a command-line interface, split tunneling, custom entry and exit node selection, an internet connection kill switch, zero-knowledge credentials and payments, diskless architecture, IPv6 with leak protection, customizable DNS servers, DNS leak protection, perfect forward secrecy, QUIC, and SOCKS5, and the app's user interface is available in multiple languages. It is written in Rust. Nym announced that it will launch a public bug bounty program to incentivize vulnerability investigation and reporting. NymVPN payments are accepted in various cryptocurrencies. Nym Technologies offers a crypto wallet, and it incentivizes volunteers running nodes with payments in its NYM token. As of January 2026 the Nym Technologies advisory board consists of George Danezis, Aggelos Kiayias, Ben Laurie, and Bart Preneel. Additional advisors include Daniel J. Bernstein, Chelsea Manning, Karthikeyan Bhargavan, and Carmela Troncoso. Nym partners with academic organizations such as the Security and Privacy Engineering Laboratory (SPRING) at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography (COSIC) research group at KU Leuven, and Cryspen. Alternative services in the security and privacy focused VPN market include Mullvad, Proton VPN, IVPN, and ultimately Tor VPN when it comes out of beta development and testing. NymVPN exceeds VPN service guidelines recommended by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Disadvantages of the mixnet method include increased bandwidth and server load with consequently greater energy usage. Although connection speeds have increased significantly, there are noticeable latency issues that aren't easily fully resolved and can impact certain users. Unlike some other VPN providers, Nym Tech has not announced specific plans to address post-quantum cryptography but has said it is working on the issue and intends to not rush an implementation prematurely. Mixnet compute paths and nodes could potentially be compromised. NymVPN specifically and mixnets generally are also emerging technologies with shorter windows of time that have undergone testing, and at lesser scale, although Nym undergoes security reviews and is FOSS.
 | |
| Developer | Harry Halpin, Claudia Diaz, Jaya Klara Brekke, Mark Sinclair, Ania Piotrowska, Marc Debizet[1] |
|---|---|
| Type | Virtual private network (VPN), cryptocurrency wallet |
| Launch date | March 2025 |
| Operating system | Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows |
| Status | Active |
| Pricing model | Free |
| Website | nym.com |
| Nym | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nym Technologies S.A. |
| Written in | Rust |
| Operating system | Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows |
| License | GNU General Public License |
| Website | nym.com |
| Repository | github.com/nymtech/nym |
Nym Technologies is a Swiss company that provides internet privacy technology utilizing Nym mix network and noise generation networks. Nym offers VPN and blockchain-related software and network services. Its most notable service, NymVPN, advertises itself as a VPN service for privacy and security.[2][3][4]
Nym Technologies was formed in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 2018.[5] NymVPN was in development and testing for several years,[6][7] with the public release in March 2025. It is cross-platform, free and open source software (FOSS). Developed by computer security researchers, it was presented at conferences such as Chaos Communication Congress,[5] HOPE,[8] and at the Free Software Foundation's LibrePlanet[9] during its alpha-beta development and after its public release. The Nym mixnet technology was also tested at some of these events. NymVPN has undergone security audits[10][11] by JP Aumasson (2021),[12] Oak Security (2023),[13] Cure53 (2024),[14] and Cryspen. Nym Wallet has also been independently audited (2023).[15]
NymVPN operates separate entry and exit nodes using the AmneziaWG implementation of the WireGuard protocol on its "fast" connection mode and five-hop mixnet on "anonymous" mode and maintains no logs. It supports a command-line interface, split tunneling, custom entry and exit node selection, an internet connection kill switch, zero-knowledge credentials and payments, diskless architecture, IPv6 with leak protection, customizable DNS servers, DNS leak protection, perfect forward secrecy, QUIC, and SOCKS5, and the app's user interface is available in multiple languages. It is written in Rust.[16] Nym announced that it will launch a public bug bounty program to incentivize vulnerability investigation and reporting.
NymVPN payments are accepted in various cryptocurrencies. Nym Technologies offers a crypto wallet, and it incentivizes volunteers running nodes with payments in its NYM token.[4]
As of January 2026 the Nym Technologies advisory board consists of George Danezis, Aggelos Kiayias, Ben Laurie, and Bart Preneel. Additional advisors include Daniel J. Bernstein, Chelsea Manning, Karthikeyan Bhargavan, and Carmela Troncoso.[1] Nym partners with academic organizations such as the Security and Privacy Engineering Laboratory (SPRING) at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography (COSIC) research group at KU Leuven, and Cryspen.[16]
Alternative services in the security and privacy focused VPN market include Mullvad, Proton VPN, IVPN, and ultimately Tor VPN when it comes out of beta development and testing. NymVPN exceeds VPN service guidelines recommended by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)[17] and the Freedom of the Press Foundation.[18]
Disadvantages of the mixnet method include increased bandwidth and server load with consequently greater energy usage.[19] Although connection speeds have increased significantly, there are noticeable latency issues that aren't easily fully resolved and can impact certain users.[4] Unlike some other VPN providers, Nym Tech has not announced specific plans to address post-quantum cryptography but has said it is working on the issue and intends to not rush an implementation prematurely.[20] Mixnet compute paths and nodes could potentially be compromised.[21][22] NymVPN specifically and mixnets generally are also emerging technologies with shorter windows of time that have undergone testing, and at lesser scale, although Nym undergoes security reviews and is FOSS.
See also
[edit]- Comparison of virtual private network services
- Anonymous P2P
- Anonymous proxy
- Computer and network surveillance
- Darknet
- Dark web
- Data anonymization
- Data security
- Information privacy
- Information security
- Internet censorship circumvention
- Internet privacy
- I2P
- Overlay network
- Privacy by design
- Privacy engineering
- Privacy-enhancing technologies
- Privacy software
- Proxy server
- Secure by design
- Secure communication
- Security engineering
References
[edit]- ^ a b "The Nym Team". Nym Technologies. 2025. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ^ Phillips, George (13 March 2025). "Introducing NymVPN – could this be the world's most secure VPN?". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ Osborne, Charlie (22 April 2025). "NymVPN: Introducing a security-first decentralized VPN with a Mixnet flair". ZDNet. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
- ^ a b c Valiaugaitė, Inga (4 December 2025). "NymVPN review 2026". Cybernews.
- ^ a b Brühl, Jannis (25 February 2022). "Harry Halpin hat einen Plan für das Internet". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Munich. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ Ehrlich, Steve (22 October 2024). "Your VPN May Not Be Private. This Blockchain Startup Nym Has A Fix". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ Piotrowska, Ania (2020). "Resistance to NSA-Level Global Adversaries With the Nym MixNet". HOPE 2020. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ Halpin, Harry (2025). "NymVPN: The First Real-World Decentralized Noise-Generating Mixnet for Anonymity". HOPE_16. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ Ghappour, Ahmed (2023). "The Nym mixnet: Free software to end mass surveillance". LibrePlanet 2023. Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ "Independently Audited". Nym Technologies. 2025. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
- ^ Piotrowska, Ania M. (4 February 2025). "Security audits of the Nym network and apps 2023–2024". Nym Technologies. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
- ^ Aumasson, JP (13 September 2021). "Nym Security Review" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ "Audit Report: Nym Mixnet and Vesting Contracts" (PDF). Oak Security. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ Heiderich, Mario; Pirker, Alexander; Bleichenbacher, Daniel; Herrera, Luan; Conde, Marta; Kobeissi, Nadim (4 November 2025). "Audit-Report Nym Mobile & Desktop, VPN, Infra & Cryptography 07.2024" (PDF). Cure53. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ "Audit Report: Nym Wallet" (PDF). Oak Security. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ a b "NymVPN Client". GitHub. Nym Tech. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
- ^ "Choosing the VPN That's Right for You". Surveillance Self-Defense. Electronic Frontier Foundation. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
- ^ Huerta, David (18 January 2025) [29 June 2018]. "An in-depth guide to choosing a VPN". Freedom of the Press Foundation. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
- ^ Volpicelli, Gian M. (12 June 2020). "This startup is working to bring full anonymity to the internet". Wired. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
- ^ Piowtrowska, Ania M. (4 April 2025). "Future-proofing privacy: Nym's roadmap to post-quantum security". Nym Technologies. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
- ^ Oldenburg, Lennart; Juarez, Marc; Rúa, Enrique Argones; Diaz, Claudia (2024). "MixMatch: Flow Matching for Mixnet Traffic". Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (2): 276–294. doi:10.56553/popets-2024-0050.
- ^ "Stopping Silent Sneaks: Defending against Malicious Mixes with Topological Engineering" (PDF).
External links
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