- Nord Security holds more than 400 patents, quadrupling its count from 2023
- New filings largely focus on quantum-resistant, zero-trust systems
- The company invests more than $100 million annually to combat emerging threats.
Nord Security, the parent company behind the popular NordVPN, has announced that it now holds more than 400 patents worldwide, a four-fold increase from 2023. The milestone highlights a significant shift in the cybersecurity industry as providers rush to harden their infrastructure against next-generation threats like quantum computing and AI-powered attacks.
To the average user, patent announcements can often seem like dry corporate metrics. However, in the context of cybersecurity products, this increase in intellectual property represents a defensive wall being built around user data. The company confirmed that the majority of these patents were filed in the US and cover critical areas such as VPN protocols, advanced identity management, and machine learning-based threat detection.
The enormous speed of this growth, going from 100 to 400 patents in just two years, aligns with the annual investment of 100 million dollars reported by Nord Security in research and development. It also indicates that the battle for online privacy is moving beyond simple IP masking and toward complex, automated defense systems designed to resist computers that don’t even exist yet.
The bet on a post-quantum future
A significant part of Nord Security’s recent research and development (R&D) focus has been on quantum-resistant cryptography. This addresses the looming threat of “harvest now, decrypt later,” where criminals collect encrypted data today in the hopes of unlocking it years from now using powerful quantum computers.
We have already seen the fruits of this labor in consumer products. A confirmed example of this technology in action is NordVPN’s post-quantum encryption system. Integrated into the NordLynx protocol, this hybrid system does not encode data just once; It is designed to change encryption keys every 90 seconds, ensuring that even if a future quantum computer were to break a key, it would only expose a minute and a half of data instead of an entire session.
“Reaching 400 patents in two years reflects our increased investment in R&D and a deliberate shift toward protecting our core technologies as competition intensifies,” said Agnė Čiukšytė, Senior Patent Director at Nord Security.
“Each patent represents a real innovation our teams have created, whether in encryption, network protocols or threat detection.”
Autonomous security and objectives for 2026
Beyond encryption, the new filings shed light on where Nord Security believes the Internet is headed in 2026: distributed networks and autonomous operations.
The company is developing “zero trust” architectures that verify every user and device, regardless of whether they are inside or outside the perimeter of a corporate network.
This is particularly relevant as remote work infrastructure becomes a permanent fixture for businesses. The patents reportedly cover SIM-based secure mobile connectivity and autonomous security operations that can detect and respond to malicious behavior in real time without human intervention.
“Each patent represents a bet we make on the future of cybersecurity,” said Čiukšytė. “In 2026, that future is distributed networks, autonomous operations, and cryptography that can withstand quantum computing. We are building defensible positions in all three.”
For users of NordVPN, NordPass, NordProtect, NordLocker, NordLayer, NordStellar and the recently launched eSIM service Saily, these patents suggest a roadmap where security becomes increasingly invisible and automated, reacting to threats faster than manual protocols.
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