INDEX / DIRECTORY / SURFSHARK / V-POL

Surfshark V-POL

POLITICAL AUDIT UPDATED 2026-05-19
V-POL Score 0.45 /10 E Surfshark — BDS-1000 47
V-POL 0.45

Evidence-only forensic audit. Scoring happens downstream — see the main dossier for the composite assessment.

V-POL Domain Audit — Surfshark

Audit Phase: V-POL (Political Forensics) Target Company: Surfshark (Nord Security group) Research Date: 2026-05-01 Jurisdiction of Incorporation: British Virgin Islands (2018, original); UK entity registered; operational restructure under Lithuanian/Dutch jurisdiction post-2022 merger

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

Official Statements on the Israel-Palestine Conflict

No official corporate statement by Surfshark specifically addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict, the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, or the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza has been identified in the public record.1 Surfshark’s blog and press release archives covering October 2023 through April 2026 contain no named position on the conflict, no expressions of solidarity directed at either party, and no acknowledgment of humanitarian conditions in Gaza or the West Bank.12

Asymmetry in Conflict-Adjacent Advocacy

This silence is notable given the scope of Surfshark’s own civic-facing research infrastructure. The company operates a publicly available Internet Shutdown Tracker3 and Censorship Radar4 — both of which documented communications disruptions in Gaza following October 2023. Despite this, no accompanying corporate statement contextualizing those disruptions within the broader conflict was publicly issued. This constitutes a documented asymmetry: Surfshark published blog content responding to internet shutdowns in Russia (2022) and Iran (2022),13 and has produced annual Human Rights Day content5 and a Digital Quality of Life Index.6 None of these publication streams addressed Gaza communications blackouts or West Bank internet restrictions during the conflict period.

Market Framing

Surfshark lists Israel as a server location in its published server directory.7 This listing is presented as a standard commercial market entry — indistinguishable in framing from any other country-level entry — with no accompanying geopolitical language, caveats, or explanatory notes. Surfshark does not publish a standalone annual report or investor filing in the public domain,89 meaning no annual report language distinguishing Israeli market operations from other commercial markets has been identified.

No Statement of Support Identified

No statement of support for either party to the Israel-Palestine conflict — Israeli state, IDF, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, or associated civil society organizations — has been identified in any Surfshark or Nord Security public communication channel.19

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

VPN Server Presence in Israel

Surfshark offers VPN server coverage designated as “Israel” in its published server location directory.7 The entry is country-level only; the directory does not specify whether any physical infrastructure is located within internationally recognized occupied Palestinian territories (West Bank, East Jerusalem) or Israeli settlements. No sub-national geographic granularity is provided for the Israel listing.7

Physical vs. Virtual Node Status

Surfshark deploys a mix of physical and virtual (IP-routing-only) server nodes across its global network. The technical nature of the Israel node — physical colocation versus a virtual presence — is not publicly confirmed in accessible documentation.7 The identity of any Israeli data center operator or colocation partner used for this node is not publicly disclosed. This constitutes a material evidence gap: physical colocation within Israeli-controlled territory would carry different legal and supply-chain implications than a virtual routing arrangement.

Absence from UN B-List

Surfshark does not appear on the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) database of businesses with activities in Israeli settlements (commonly referred to as the “UN B-List”).10 As of its most recent published update, that database is concentrated in construction, real estate, financial services, tourism, and infrastructure sectors. VPN service providers and software-as-a-service companies are not represented in the published list. No regulatory actions, sanctions proceedings, or international body scrutiny specifically targeting Surfshark in connection with Israeli-occupied territories has been identified.10

BDS Campaign Exposure

The BDS Movement’s published target lists focus on hardware manufacturers, logistics firms, financial institutions, and direct Israeli state contractors.11 Surfshark is not named on BDS Movement target lists as of training cutoff.11 No organized boycott, divestment, or sanctions campaign specifically naming Surfshark in connection with the Israel-Palestine conflict has been identified across BDS databases, NGO reports, or major news sources. No public evidence identified. No documented corporate response to any such campaign exists, consistent with no campaign having been identified.

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

Employee Relations & Political Speech

No public reports, legal actions, formal complaints, or documented controversies regarding Surfshark’s HR enforcement concerning employee speech about the Israel-Palestine conflict, display of political symbols, or related labor organizing have been identified.12 Glassdoor reviews covering 2021–2024 address general workplace culture, management quality, compensation, and remote work arrangements.12 No reviews referencing internal restrictions on political speech related to the conflict, enforcement of dress-code policies with geopolitical dimensions, or related disciplinary actions have been identified. No public evidence identified.

Platform & Content Moderation Policy

Surfshark operates as a VPN and cybersecurity service provider, not as a content platform, social media operator, or host of user-generated content.1314 It does not maintain an editorial algorithm, content recommendation engine, or user-speech moderation framework in the conventional platform sense. Accordingly, no independent reports, academic studies, or regulatory inquiries regarding algorithmic suppression or editorial bias by Surfshark related to the Israel-Palestine conflict apply.13 Surfshark’s published Privacy Policy and Terms of Service do not contain conflict-specific content restrictions that have been documented or flagged by third-party researchers.13 No public evidence identified.

Retail & Supply Chain Obligations

Surfshark is a subscription software service with no physical retail supply chain, manufactured goods, or product labeling obligations.14 EU settlement goods labeling regimes (which apply to physical products originating in Israeli settlements) are structurally inapplicable to Surfshark’s business model. No public reports or regulatory actions regarding product sourcing, country-of-origin labeling, or goods categorization from occupied territories apply. No public evidence identified.

Transparency Reporting

Surfshark publishes annual transparency reports covering government data requests received by jurisdiction.2 The published reports cover aggregate request volumes but do not itemize requests by individual country. Whether Israeli government authorities have submitted data requests to Surfshark, and how the company responded, is not publicly disclosed.2 Surfshark also maintains a warrant canary.15 No adverse findings related to conflict-zone data requests are recorded in the published materials.

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

Founding History & Commercial Identity

Surfshark was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in 2018 by Vytautas Kaziukonis, a Lithuanian national.16 The company’s commercial branding is built around consumer privacy, cybersecurity tooling, and online freedom — not military heritage, defense-sector origins, or state-intelligence positioning.1 No use of defense, military, or state-security heritage in Surfshark’s commercial marketing has been identified across product pages, campaign materials, or leadership communications.1

Following the February 2022 merger with Nord Security, Surfshark was restructured under the Nord Security group umbrella, with Nord Security entities registered in Lithuania and the Netherlands.1718 The combined group’s commercial positioning remains centered on the consumer and small-business privacy market.914

State Honors, Hosted Officials & Institutional Partnerships

No acceptance of state honors from Israel or related entities, no hosted Israeli government officials at corporate events, and no formal non-commercial partnerships with Israeli state academic or governmental institutions have been identified. No public evidence identified.

No corporate sponsorship of “Brand Israel” campaigns, Israeli government public relations initiatives, or analogous state-backed marketing programs has been identified. No public evidence identified.

Surfshark’s documented institutional partnerships are confined to cybersecurity certification bodies — such as the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards19 — and privacy audit engagements, including a no-logs audit conducted by Deloitte in 2023.20 Neither partnership carries a state-geopolitical dimension.

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

US Federal Lobbying & Political Contributions

A review of US Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) records for both “Surfshark” and “Nord Security” returns no registered lobbying filings as of training cutoff.21 OpenSecrets records for “Surfshark” return no PAC contributions or federal lobbying expenditure entries.22 No leadership roles by Surfshark or Nord Security in geopolitical pressure groups or advocacy organizations related to Israel-Palestine policy have been identified. No public evidence identified.

Financial Contributions to Conflict-Adjacent Organizations

No material financial support, corporate donations, or sponsorships directed by Surfshark toward parastatal organizations, Israeli settlement infrastructure funds, or military-welfare organizations (e.g., Friends of the IDF/FIDF, Jewish National Fund/JNF, or equivalent bodies on either side of the conflict) have been identified in any public record. No public evidence identified.

Crisis Asset Mobilization

No instances of Surfshark directing free VPN subscriptions, service credits, infrastructure access, or logistical resources specifically to Israeli state, military, or state-aligned NGO efforts during the October 2023 conflict or the subsequent operational period have been identified. For comparative context, several technology companies — not including Surfshark — publicly announced free service access for residents of Israel and/or Gaza during October–November 2023;23 Surfshark made no equivalent documented announcement in either direction. No public evidence identified of crisis asset mobilization by Surfshark for any party to the conflict.

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Ownership & Incorporation

Surfshark was originally incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in 2018. Following the merger announced in February 2022,1718 Surfshark operates as a subsidiary brand within the Nord Security group. A UK entity — Surfshark Ltd — is registered at Companies House (company number 11621280).8 The combined group’s principal operational entities are domiciled in Lithuania and the Netherlands.9

Nord Security’s majority ownership is held by its Lithuanian co-founders — Tom Okman, Eimantas Sabaliauskas, and associated founders.924 An October 2021 funding round raised $100M at a $1.6B valuation, with Warburg Pincus identified as the institutional investor.24 No state-held golden shares, sovereign wealth fund ownership, or government-linked equity stakes in Surfshark or Nord Security have been identified in any public filing.8925

Primary Mission

Corporate charter documentation and all public-facing materials identify Surfshark’s primary mandate as commercial: consumer and business privacy tools, cybersecurity services, and digital freedom advocacy.19 No clause, board resolution, or governance document reflecting a primary mandate tied to advancing any state’s geopolitical goals has been identified.8

No Israeli state or state-linked institutional investor participation in Nord Security or Surfshark funding rounds has been identified.2425

Post-Merger Governance Opacity

The post-2022 merged entity’s full corporate governance structure, board composition, and shareholder agreement are not publicly filed in a searchable registry. BVI original incorporation records are similarly not publicly accessible, given BVI’s limited public company registry. These constitute material evidence gaps for full ownership-chain verification.

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Vytautas Kaziukonis — Personal Philanthropy & Public Statements

Vytautas Kaziukonis, Surfshark’s founder and CEO, has no verifiable personal donations, family foundation grants, or fundraising activity directed toward regional advocacy groups, FIDF, JNF, or equivalent organizations identified in public records, news coverage, or philanthropic databases.16 No public evidence identified.

No public statements, social media posts, op-eds, or signed open letters by Kaziukonis regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict have been identified across LinkedIn, Twitter/X, major media, or open-letter databases. No public evidence identified.16

Nord Security Co-Founders — Tom Okman & Eimantas Sabaliauskas

The same findings apply to Nord Security’s co-founders. No verifiable personal financial contributions to Israel-Palestine-related organizations, no public statements on the conflict, and no signed advocacy communications have been identified for either individual.9

Board Memberships & Organizational Affiliations

No identified board seats, advisory roles, or leadership positions held by Surfshark or Nord Security founders or senior executives in geopolitical pressure groups, Israeli state-aligned academic institutions, pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian lobbying organizations have been identified. No public evidence identified.916

End Notes

Footnotes

  1. https://surfshark.com/blog ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. https://surfshark.com/transparency-report ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. https://surfshark.com/research/internet-shutdown-tracker ↩ ↩2

  4. https://surfshark.com/research/censorship-tracker ↩

  5. https://surfshark.com/blog/human-rights-day ↩

  6. https://surfshark.com/research/digital-quality-of-life ↩

  7. https://surfshark.com/servers ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  8. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11621280 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. https://nordsecurity.com/about ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  10. https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/sessions/database-business-activities ↩ ↩2

  11. https://bdsmovement.net/act-now/what-to-boycott ↩ ↩2

  12. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Surfshark-Reviews-E3606255.htm ↩ ↩2

  13. https://surfshark.com/privacy/privacy-policy ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. https://surfshark.com/vpn-for-business ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  15. https://surfshark.com/warrant-canary ↩

  16. https://www.crunchbase.com/person/vytautas-kaziukonis ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  17. https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/01/nord-security-surfshark-merge/ ↩ ↩2

  18. https://www.reuters.com/technology/vpn-firms-nordvpn-surfshark-merge-2022-02-01/ ↩ ↩2

  19. https://cybersecurity-excellence-awards.com/candidates/surfshark/ ↩

  20. https://surfshark.com/blog/surfshark-deloitte-audit ↩

  21. https://lda.senate.gov/system/public/ ↩

  22. https://www.opensecrets.org/search?q=surfshark ↩

  23. https://restofworld.org/2023/vpn-surge-israel-gaza-october-7/ ↩

  24. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-06/nord-security-raises-100-million-in-first-outside-funding ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  25. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/nord-security ↩ ↩2