The 10 Most Monumental VPN Hacks, Ranked

VPNs are often marketed as impenetrable shields, promising anonymity and security with just a single click. Yet history tells a different story. Over the past decade, even the most well-known providers have suffered serious breaches, leaks, and lapses in transparency—sometimes exposing millions of users to surveillance, identity theft, or worse.

Counting Down the Biggest VPN Breaches

Data breaches vary widely in scope and impact. Some involve limited data exposure or uncover vulnerabilities that are quickly patched, while others result in the compromise of entire databases. While all breaches are important, we're highlighting those that caused major disruptions or had a significant impact on the industry.

10. Hundreds of Free VPNs Put User Data at Grave Risk (2025)

Zimperium released a report analyzing more than 800 free VPNs available on Android and iOS and found that the vast majority severely lacked adequate privacy measures. Zimperium confirmed that malicious VPN apps are not merely a thing of the past. This is why we only recommend trusting free VPNs from reputable services.

9. NordVPN Third-Party Data Center Breach Raises Infrastructure Concerns (2018)

A NordVPN server in Finland, operated by a third-party data center, was found to have a security vulnerability that allowed a hacker to gain unauthorized access. While the attack did not result in any compromised user data, it highlighted the vulnerability of VPN companies and their reliance on third-party infrastructure that may not adhere to the same privacy standards as the VPN.

8. TunnelVision Attack Reveals New Vulnerabilities in VPN Protocols (2024)

A researcher at Leviathan Security Group discovered a new attack, dubbed TunnelVision, that can compromise any VPN client connection under certain conditions. In short, this attack creates a side channel in a VPN connection, allowing a potential hacker to access unencrypted data.

7. HideMyAss Sparks VPN Privacy Revolution With LulzSec Incident (2011)

In 2011, HMA VPN complied with a UK court order and handed over user logs that tied an HMA account to an alleged hacking attempt against Sony. This incident shook the consumer VPN space, causing many VPNs to adopt no-logs policies and become more transparent about existing policies.

6. Cisco VPN Breach Highlights Importance of Multi-Factor Authentication (2023)

Akira and LockBit, two ransomware groups, employed a brute force attack that compromised Cisco’s VPN service, resulting in unauthorized access to user credentials. This attack was particularly effective against those who did not have multi-factor authentication enabled.

5. Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Breach Hits Government Devices (2021)

A suspected Chinese hacker group exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Ivanti’s network to compromise devices used by the US and EU governments. The breach was the third in a series of attacks that occurred in 2020 and 2021, and the compromised devices remained undetected for months.

4. Pure VPN CRM Exploit Shows Risks of Third-Party Services (2013)

An attack in 2013 exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Pure VPN's third-party customer relationship management software. The resulting leak compromised user emails and names, highlighting the risks associated with relying on third-party services.

3. Fortinet's Repeated Credential Leaks Shake Enterprise VPN Trust (2020, 2021, 2025)

Fortinet isn’t a traditional VPN; rather, it is a cybersecurity company that offers VPN solutions and infrastructure to businesses. It’s commonly used as a remote access tool for enterprises rather than a consumer-level product. However, it has been impacted by multiple breaches.

2. Seven Simultaneous VPN Leaks Expose 1.2TB of User Data (2020)

A server shared by seven VPNs operating in Hong Kong was found to be compromised. The leak totaled 1.2TB of data, which included support chats, user browsing history, IP addresses, and stored activity logs in plaintext.

1. Hola VPN Botnet Scandal (2015)

More than 47 million free Hola VPN users unknowingly contributed to a botnet tied to the company’s sister app Luminati (now known as Bright Data), which sold access to the network nodes. Those same user connections from Luminati were then compromised and used in a distributed denial-of-service attack against the 8chan message board.

Practical Privacy Tips

Attacks like those mentioned above are likely to continue, especially with the potential rise of quantum computing. However, each incident has driven VPN providers to adopt greater transparency and implement stricter security and privacy standards. As threats evolve, so do the defenses against them.

A VPN’s privacy policy is a valuable resource for understanding what data the service collects. Ideally, a VPN should not keep any logs that could be traced back to individual users. Some short-term diagnostic data collection is common, but it should be minimal and temporary.

For more insight into how we evaluate VPNs, check out our guide on the testing process and the criteria we use. We ensure that every VPN we recommend has been thoroughly evaluated for major flaws, inconsistencies, and vulnerabilities before we recommend it. Still, real-world incidents have shown that privacy policies and independent testing can only reveal so much.

Despite our careful vetting to identify and eliminate obvious scams and malicious actors, some risks remain unknown. Many security breaches happen due to hidden vulnerabilities or exploits that even the company itself may not be aware of. Additionally, third-party partners sometimes fail to uphold the VPN’s privacy standards, leading to leaks.

Ultimately, it’s wise to build trust gradually rather than fully committing upfront. Avoid locking yourself into long-term annual plans with a single provider. Use disposable emails and one-time payment methods to protect your anonymity. Create a comprehensive privacy toolkit including a password manager, multi-factor authentication, and encrypted messaging apps.

By limiting the personal information you share voluntarily, you significantly reduce your chances of falling victim to a data breach—whether through your VPN or any other company trying to exploit your data.