INDEX / DIRECTORY / SURFSHARK

Surfshark

Cybersecurity & VPN 35 CITED SOURCES UPDATED 2026-08-29
BDS-1000 Score 0 /1000 E Tier E - Limited
Military ↗ 0.00 Digital ↗ 0.00 Economic ↗ 0.00 Political ↗ 0.00

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Key Findings

  • Digital: Surfshark markets eight Tel Aviv-labelled VPN servers that provide an Israeli IP address; the published materials do not establish whether those endpoints are physically hosted in Israel or identify their operator, hosting provider, or end users.12
  • Economic: The reviewed record identifies a consumer VPN offering, not an Israeli physical-goods supply chain, investment, Israeli operating company, or Israel-specific revenue stream.13
  • Political: Surfshark’s research separately treats Palestine in a facial-recognition methodology, but the cited reference does not state a position on military operations, settlements, civilian harm, or the wider conflict.4
  • Not found: No public evidence identified of Israeli military, security, intelligence, police, settlement, or state-cloud contracts or deployments involving Surfshark.156

Target Profile

FieldDetail
Company NameSurfshark / Surfshark B.V.7
JurisdictionNetherlands; Surfshark B.V. is recorded as a Dutch private limited company.8
HeadquartersKabelweg 57, 1014BA Amsterdam, Netherlands.78
SectorConsumer cybersecurity and privacy services, including VPN, antivirus, alert, search, alternative identity/number, and data-deletion services.79
OwnershipPrivate. Surfshark merged with Nord Security under one holding-company structure in 2022 while continuing independent operations; the reviewed materials do not disclose the holding company’s legal identity, ownership percentages, or ultimate beneficial owners.910
Key Executives / GovernanceDovydas Godelis, CEO; Vytautas Kaziukonis, founder and Chairman; Laurynas Zabulis, CFO; Donatas Budvytis, CTO; Saulius Maslinskas, Chief Product Development Officer; Tomas Stamulis, Chief Security Officer; Gytis Malinauskas, Head of Legal.7
Israeli-Nexus SummaryA marketed Tel Aviv VPN location is the documented Israel-facing nexus; no public evidence identified of Israeli state, military, settlement, or occupied-territory operations.156

Key Facts:

Executive Summary

Surfshark is a consumer privacy and cybersecurity provider. Its documented Israel-facing service is the marketing of eight Israeli VPN servers, with Tel Aviv presented as a connection location for users seeking an Israeli IP address.1 The service page describes encrypted traffic and RAM-only infrastructure, but it does not establish whether the advertised endpoint is physical infrastructure in Israel or a virtual server elsewhere. It also does not identify the hosting company, data-centre, reseller, public-sector customer, or military end user.12

The reviewed evidence supports no documented military or security nexus. No public evidence identified of contracts, tenders, framework agreements, or official cooperation between Surfshark, Surfshark B.V., or Nord Security and the Israeli Ministry of Defense, IDF, intelligence agencies, police, prison service, Border Police, settlement bodies, or defence primes.56 The public product record describes consumer privacy and security tools rather than military-specific, weapons, targeting, or offensive-cyber products.9

The economic record similarly does not establish an Israeli operational or investment footprint. No public evidence identified of direct investment in Israel or the occupied territories, an Israeli R&D centre, acquisition of an Israeli company, Israeli physical-goods sourcing, settlement activity, Israeli tax contribution, or Israel-specific revenue or profit flows.13 Surfshark’s corporate materials list European offices; that listing is not a complete operational-footprint disclosure and cannot prove the absence of all Israeli activity.7

Political evidence is limited. Surfshark’s facial-recognition research treats Palestine separately because its methodology identified Israeli-government facial-recognition use to monitor Palestinians in the West Bank; this is a research-methodology reference, not a stated corporate position on the conflict.4 No public evidence identified of a company statement specifically addressing Israel–Palestine, Gaza, 7 October, humanitarian assistance, lobbying, donations, or support for either side.1213

On the fixed human-vetted V4 record, all four domains score 0.00. The resulting BRS is 0, placing Surfshark in Tier E (Minimal). This reflects the narrow, unresolved consumer VPN-server nexus and the absence of verified qualifying conduct - not a finding that unreviewed conduct cannot exist.

Timeline of Relevant Events

DateEvent
22 February 2021Surfshark B.V. was created as a Dutch legal entity, according to its LEI record.8
February 2022Surfshark and Nord Security announced a merger under one holding-company structure while stating that they would continue to operate independently.9
April 2022Nord Security announced a US$100 million financing round led by Novator Ventures, with Burda Principal Investments and General Catalyst participating.10
September 2023Nord Security announced a further US$100 million financing round from Warburg Pincus, with Novator and Burda participating.11
14 May–10 June 2025An independent reasonable-assurance engagement reviewed procedures relating to Surfshark VPN-service systems.14
Current reviewed materialsSurfshark advertises eight Israeli VPN servers and directs users to select Tel Aviv for an Israeli IP address.1

Corporate Overview

Surfshark’s published terms and privacy materials identify Surfshark B.V., Amsterdam, as the relevant customer-contracting entity and data controller. The terms state that customer contracts are governed by British Virgin Islands law.715 A Dutch LEI record identifies Surfshark B.V. as active, although its LEI registration is shown as lapsed.8

Surfshark states that it merged with Nord Security under one holding company in 2022 while retaining independent operations, infrastructure, management, and product-development plans.9 The reviewed sources do not provide a formal post-merger legal group chart, ownership percentages, shareholder register, beneficial-ownership disclosure, or the legal identity of the common holding company.910

The recruitment privacy notice names Surfshark B.V.; netflow, UAB; Radically Better Internet Poland Sp. z o.o.; and 360Civic Inc., doing business as Ironwall, within a recruitment context. That notice does not establish ownership percentages or a formal corporate structure.16 A May 2025 French court judgment named Surfshark B.V. and Surfshark Ltd, Tortola, BVI, as litigants; the judgment does not establish their ownership relationship, operating roles, or whether Surfshark Ltd remains active.17

No public evidence identified of an Israeli subsidiary, franchisee, licence holder, authorised reseller, branch, R&D facility, or settlement operation. The bounded corporate review cannot establish their non-existence.1715

Domain Summaries

Military: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

No public evidence identified of Israeli defence, IDF, prison-service, Border Police, intelligence, or other security-body contracts, tenders, framework agreements, or official cooperation involving Surfshark, Surfshark B.V., or Nord Security.5

No public evidence identified of Surfshark supplying Israeli defence primes, providing base or logistical services, or manufacturing or maintaining weapons, munitions, guidance, fire-control, armoured-vehicle, missile-defence, or other strategic military systems.5 Its reviewed public portfolio is consumer cybersecurity and privacy services.9

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Surfshark’s strongest documented defence is the civilian character of its stated products and the absence, in reviewed procurement and corporate materials, of a disclosed defence business unit, military programme, customer, export licence, or end-user certification.59 The Israeli VPN-server page identifies neither military users nor a military-specific product modification.1

These are bounded negative findings. The office list and reviewed registries are not exhaustive operational or procurement records and do not prove the absence of every undisclosed relationship.7

Named Entities and Evidence Map

EntityEvidence record
Israeli Ministry of Defense / IDF / security bodiesNo public evidence identified of a Surfshark contract, tender, or cooperation announcement.5
Israeli defence primesNo public evidence identified of supply, joint development, co-production, or licensed technology involving Surfshark.5
Surfshark B.V.Dutch consumer-facing contracting entity; no reviewed military activity identified.78

Digital: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

Surfshark advertises eight Israeli VPN servers and instructs users to choose Tel Aviv to receive an Israeli IP address.1 It describes these as encrypted, RAM-only consumer VPN infrastructure.1 General documentation explains that virtual VPN servers can provide a country’s IP address from a different physical location.2

The Israel-specific page does not identify the physical server location, host, hardware owner, colocation provider, reseller, or end user.12 Surfshark’s disclosed privacy-policy recipient countries do not name Israel, but that omission is not proof that no Israeli processing occurs.15

No public evidence identified of Israeli state-cloud participation, Project Nimbus involvement, Israeli government cloud tenders, or the deployment of Surfshark technology for Israeli military, intelligence, police, or territorial surveillance.618

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The documented service is a consumer VPN offering, not a verified Israeli public-sector deployment. Surfshark states that it does not retain browsing history, traffic, visited IP addresses, connection timestamps, or bandwidth, while certain session details are temporarily retained and deleted within 15 minutes after a session ends.15

This does not independently verify all technical practices or resolve the physical location of Tel Aviv-labelled endpoints. Nor do document-scoped checks establish absence from all future or unreviewed records.118

Named Entities and Evidence Map

EntityEvidence record
Tel Aviv VPN locationAdvertised consumer endpoint; physical hosting and operator unresolved.12
Project Nimbus / Israeli sovereign cloudNo public evidence identified of Surfshark participation.6
Israeli-origin enterprise-security vendorsNo public evidence identified of a direct Surfshark relationship with the specifically reviewed vendors.6

Economic: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

The only identified Israel-facing offering is the advertised VPN service providing Israeli virtual-server access.1 No public evidence identified of physical-goods sourcing, importing, distribution, white-labelling, Israeli importer-of-record activity, direct investment in Israel or the occupied territories, acquisition of an Israeli operating company, or holdings in Israeli-domiciled companies or Israel-focused funds.3

No public evidence identified of an Israeli office, workforce, tax registration, support centre, warehouse, retail site, government contract, or activity in settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Golan Heights.37

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The reviewed record supports a digital consumer service rather than an Israeli physical supply chain. The Israel server page provides no customer numbers, revenue, commissions, Israeli tax, or profit-repatriation data.1 Available merger and financing disclosures likewise do not provide Israel-segment reporting.910

The failure to locate this information does not establish that no Israeli customers, revenue, or infrastructure exist; it records that the reviewed sources do not document them.13

Named Entities and Evidence Map

EntityEvidence record
Surfshark B.V.Amsterdam-based Dutch entity; no reviewed Israeli operating footprint identified.78
Nord SecurityCommon-holding-company merger partner; ownership and group structure remain undisclosed in reviewed materials.910
Israeli VPN endpointMarketed service; no disclosed Israeli revenue, host, or local contracting entity.1

Political: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

Surfshark’s public mission concerns online privacy, security, and an open internet.7 Its Emergency VPN programme offers six months of free VPN access to journalists, NGO representatives, and activists facing censorship or surveillance; the reviewed programme page is not Israel-, Palestine-, or Gaza-specific.13

Surfshark’s facial-recognition methodology treats Palestine separately because it identified Israeli-government facial-recognition use to monitor Palestinians in the West Bank.4 The reference is not a corporate position on military operations, settlements, civilian harm, or the broader conflict.4

No public evidence identified of Israel–Palestine statements, conflict-related donations, lobbying, Israeli-government or IDF support, settlement-entity support, or anti-BDS activity by Surfshark.12

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The company’s strongest documented defence is that its public posture is general privacy and anti-censorship advocacy, rather than an identified Israel/Palestine political programme.713 The research-methodology reference cannot by itself be attributed as a position on the conflict.4

No public evidence identified of legal, UN-database, international-body, boycott, divestment, sanctions, or regulatory scrutiny naming Surfshark for Israel- or settlement-related conduct. These findings are document-scoped and do not establish all-source absence.1819

Named Entities and Evidence Map

EntityEvidence record
Palestine / Israeli-government facial recognitionMentioned in Surfshark research methodology; no broader conflict position stated.4
Israeli government / IDF / settlement entitiesNo public evidence identified of contracts, donations, sponsorships, lobbying, or support.12
OHCHR and UN recordsSupplied checks found no Surfshark mention in the specified settlement-business and Human Rights Council documents; this is not database-wide proof of absence.1819

BDS-1000 Score (V4)

DomainIMPV-Domain Score
Military0.000.000.000.00
Digital0.000.000.000.00
Economic0.000.000.000.00
Political0.000.000.000.00

V_MAX is 0.00 because none of the audited domains establishes a verified qualifying military, digital, economic, or political nexus. The marketed Tel Aviv VPN location is insufficient, on the reviewed evidence, to establish infrastructure in Israel, a state customer, or a qualifying relationship. The method is evidence-only and vetted, using scale-free Impact × magnitude/proximity measures.

Methodology Note

Footnotes

  1. https://surfshark.com/servers/israel ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19

  2. https://surfshark.com/servers ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. https://surfshark.com/about-us ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. https://surfshark.com/facial-recognition-map ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  5. https://surfshark.com/terms-of-service?locale=pl&print=true ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  6. https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/59/23 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  7. https://surfshark.com/privacy ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14

  8. https://lei.bloomberg.com/leis/view/254900STIEA4WRWRNV37 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  9. https://surfshark.com/blog/surfshark-merges-with-nord-security ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  10. https://nordsecurity.com/blog/nord-security-raises-outside-capital-16-B-valuation ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  11. https://nordsecurity.com/blog/nord-security-raised-another-100m-investment-round ↩ ↩2

  12. https://surfshark.com/emergency-vpn ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  13. https://surfshark.com/media/Surfshark_Code_of_Conduct.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ISAE_3000-_Report-Surfshark_No_Log_VPN.pdf ↩

  15. https://surfshark.com/privacy ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  16. https://surfshark.com/career/privacy ↩

  17. https://netxhack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Canal-Plus-v-VPN-Providers-judgment-250515-FR.pdf ↩

  18. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/un-human-rights-office-updates-database-businesses-involved-israeli ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  19. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/updated-database-of-business-ohchr2023/ ↩ ↩2