ExpressVPN is rolling out major upgrades to its Lightway protocol that are set to make it “more secure, better performing, and designed for more efficient improvements” in the future. On Monday, the service announced that it will reimplement Lightway in the modern Rust coding language.
Originally, Lightway, like most other VPN protocols including WireGuard and OpenVPN, was written in the more dated C coding language. By reimplementing it in Rust, ExpressVPN claims Lightway will gain distinct advantages.
First, Rust will make the protocol even more secure than it already is due to the modern language’s built-in memory safety, eliminating vulnerabilities and attack vectors common with C. Rust also supports safer multicore-processing which will mean better performance and more battery life. Lastly, the nature of the Rust architecture will allow for even more agile and efficient improvements to the Lightway protocol in the future.
So, what does all of this mean for users? Well, once these changes are released, users can expect a faster, more secure and reliable service. Faster speeds translate to smoother performance while streaming, lower pings while gaming, and faster downloads. The security boost will also be a boon for those who rely on anonymity for safety such as journalists and activists.
The reimplementation of Lightway in Rust will theoretically be a major improvement for an already outstanding VPN service. ExpressVPN is currently the best VPN on the market and this change will only help to bolster its spot at the top.
In a statement following the announcement, ExpressVPN Chief Research Officer Pete Membrey said, “Our goal with Lightway is not only to serve the users of ExpressVPN but also to contribute its technology meaningfully to the VPN industry. With Lighway’s open-source code available to all and further testing and validation by trusted experts in cybersecurity, we’ve confidently built the VPN protocol of the future—more secure, stronger performance, and ever-ready for the modern world.”
Along with the overhaul to its proprietary protocol, ExpressVPN commissioned not one, but two independent audits to validate the security of Lightway’s new source code—one by Cure 53 and another by Praetorian. The two cybersecurity firms both came to similar positive conclusions about the re-coding. A few minor weaknesses were found, but ExpressVPN has already resolved them.
The Lightway in Rust implementation is due to be released first on ExpressVPN’s Aircove routers this week followed by Android at the end of March, Linux and MacOS in the second quarter and Windows in the third quarter of this year.
Author: Sam Singleton, Assistant Editor, PCWorld
Sam Singleton is PCWorld's VPN beat reporter and jack of all trades. When he's not on the hunt for the best computer deals he's covering VPNs, productivity software, laptops, and a wide gamut of consumer-grade hardware and software.