Survey: Most VPN Services Leak IPv6 Traffic

Twenty percent of European Internet users use a VPN service to encrypt its Internet or IP address to foreclose, but many of these services leakage data users, say researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).

VPN services are among others used to visit for example censored or domestically not accessible websites, but also to encrypt traffic so for example, the home network can not monitor this. The researchers looked at the services of the 14 most popular VPN providers and found that there are 11 user information leaked, so leave them in their research report ( pdf know).This involves things like websites visited and the content of comments posted online. The problem is not with websites visited via HTTPS.

IPv6

The problem is caused by the leakage of IPv6 traffic, also referred to as "IPv6 leakage". IPv6 is the successor to IPv4, which is the standard now. The Internet Protocol is the communications protocol that is used to identify hosts on networks, and to determine their location. The advantage of IPv6 is that many more addresses are available, and provides the protocol features that are not present in IPv4. Many network operators steps now to IPv6, but many VPN services protect only IPv4 traffic.

For the study the fourteen most popular VPN providers were used and made from different devices with a Wi-Fi network connection. Attacks were carried out from this access point that could perform attackers. There was passive monitoring place where unencrypted data was stored, and "DNS hijacking, in which the users' browser was redirected to another location.

The researchers also looked at the safety of different mobile platforms when using VPN services and discovered that Apple's iOS offers more protection, but data from Android users can leak. "There are several reasons why someone wants to hide his identity and it is worrying that they are at risk, even though they use a service that is precisely designed to protect them," said QMUL researcher Gareth Tyson. He is particularly concerned about people living in repressive regimes and surfing via a VPN.