Technologies

Surfshark Just Dropped a Next-Gen VPN Protocol That Could Be Faster and More Secure Than Other VPN Connections

The new Dausos connection protocol has been independently audited and includes a few key innovations not found in other VPNs.

Surfshark on Monday released its brand-new Dausos VPN connection protocol, which the company says elevates three key elements for VPN users: 30% faster speeds than industry-standard protocols, enhanced security with a hybrid post-quantum encryption and dedicated, private server-side tunnels for each individual session.

This means that Dausos should give Surfshark users smoother connections, improved privacy and faster performance to benefit data-heavy activities, like streaming and gaming.

VPN protocols are essentially the rules that determine the encrypted connection between your device and the internet while on a VPN. Long gone are the days when OpenVPN dominated as the hotshot of the VPN protocol world. It’s still a fine protocol with airtight security that can be great when you need stable connections on any network or want to bypass firewalls, but it’s a lumbering hulk that wasn’t built for the speed or security requirements of today’s VPN users.

Modern times call for modern VPN protocols, and Surfshark is the latest of CNET’s top VPN picks to spin up its own proprietary next-generation VPN protocol. Dausos sounds poised to challenge WireGuard as the protocol of choice for Surfshark users who want speedy connections without compromising security.

One of the biggest innovations that Dausos brings to the table is its ability to deliver a dedicated tunnel for each individual user session, which Surfshark says can optimize performance by dynamically adapting to network conditions and device capabilities for each individual connection.

Isolating user’s data traffic is a key element here. “While the risk of cross-traffic exposure in modern VPNs is very low, our unique protocol design goes the extra mile to ensure a clean, private, and secure path for each user’s data,” Surfshark’s lead systems engineer Karolis Kaciulis said in a statement.

Surfshark representatives told me via email that this isolation happens on the server side, and every time a user connects to a server, the server creates a new network interface specific to that user and VPN session. The representative explained that each user gets their own server-side tunnel, so no network space logic or other resources are shared when a user connects via the Dausos protocol. This differs from the traditional method, where the server side has a single network interface that all users of a particular protocol share.

That’s all very technical, but it’s almost like creating a highway specifically for your internet connection, instead of having to share that highway with other users.

“The protocol’s unique design avoids unnecessary and redundant checking of data packets, which enhances connection performance and even further prevents the theoretical possibility of data packets interfering with each other,” Kaciulis said in the press release.

Surfshark also incorporates post-compromise security with its Dausos protocol, which the company says takes the concept of perfect forward secrecy to the next level. With PFS, every time a user connects to a VPN server, a fresh set of ephemeral encryption keys are generated. Every few minutes, a new set of keys is regenerated so that an attacker wouldn’t be able to decrypt a user’s past VPN session data from a single key compromise. However, the new encryption keys are generally derived from the old keys, which means that it could theoretically be possible for an attacker to derive future keys from a past compromised key.

But Surfshark told me via email that with Dausos’ post-compromise security, the new encryption keys are unique and entirely unrelated to any other key, which makes it virtually impossible to decrypt future keys from a past key compromise. Essentially, post-compromise security gives Surfshark users an added layer of privacy.

Dausos also incorporates post-quantum encryption, which can help protect against potential decryption threats from quantum computers in the future. Much like ExpressVPN, Surfshark’s hybrid post-quantum approach helps protect user data simultaneously from today’s threats as well as future threats.

“We introduced numerous steps, some of them never seen in any VPN protocol before, to maximize the security of our protocol,” Kaciulis said in a statement.

To help validate its claims, Surfshark commissioned German security firm Cure53 to run an independent audit of Dausos’ security. Cure53’s source code audit took place between February and March 2026 and focused on the connected architecture and cryptography of the Dausos protocol. The audit flagged eight findings within the Dausos protocol’s scope that Cure53 rated a medium severity or lower — most of which Cure53 says Surfshark immediately addressed.

“With no findings rated at Critical or High severity within the actual Dausos protocol itself, the audit results reflect a stable and resilient platform,” Cure53’s audit summary states. “The Surfshark team demonstrated a significant commitment to security by remediating the majority of the findings immediately following the testing phase.”

The Dausos protocol is currently only available on Surfshark’s MacOS VPN app. However, Surfshark told me via email that the team is actively working toward rolling out Dausos on other platforms “soon,” but cannot yet share a specific timeline.

For more information, check out the VPN settings to enable for optimal privacy, why VPN jurisdiction is critical for your privacy, how to speed up your VPN connection and why VPNs can’t make you completely anonymous online.

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”