The issue, states Snowden, stems back to Gericke’s activities prior to joining ExpressVPN, where he took part in Project Raven, an initiative the helped the United Arab Emiriates spy on its enemies, and the subject of an ongoing court case. ExpressVPN, perhaps one of the most recognisable VPN brands on the market, has responded to Snowden’s comments, stating that Gericke’s past gives him a unique advantage, while not condoning his work with Project Raven. After leaking this information, Snowden fled to Russia to seek asylum, where he remains to this day, as the US still has charges against him. From there, Snowden operates a Twitter account where he comments on politics, surveillance, and various other topics. Snowden’s comments on ExpressVPN are particularly scathing, as he’s established himself as somewhat of a man of the people when it comes to government surveillance and cyber security.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 16, 2021 ExpressVPN’s CIO Daniel Gericke had a role in an illegal UAE government surveillance project, known as Project Raven. Gericke has pled guilty to the charges presented to him, and agreed to pay the associated fine. As a man associated with government security, Snowden has a big problem with a cyber-security company hiring a man with a known history of what could be interpreted as cyber-crime. Gericke and the other two participants admitted their involvement in the operation, and plead guilty to various counts of cyber crime. They have agreed to pay a collective fine of $1.69 million, and may never seek jobs that require US security clearance. Nowadays he’s working at ExpressVPN, and Edward Snowden is concerned about Gericke’s role with the company. The three men admitted to using a cyberweapon called “Karma,” which allows hacking to occur on an iPhone without any links being clicked by the iPhone’s user. Using this, they were able to access the phones of journalists, government officials, and humans rights activists. This Apple problem has seemingly been fixed since. After the three men admitted to this act, they were able to avoid prosecution by pleading guilty, which lead to a fine. Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko had this to say: ExpressVPN’s logic is that in order to fully service their customers in the realm of security, they must work with those who are familiar with the realm of cyber attacks. — ExpressVPN (@expressvpn) September 16, 2021 This approach is not unprecedented. Many times, businesses or governments will hire people who have previously worked against their mission in order to get the opposing perspective. It’s like hiring a professional thief to see if your security system is all it’s cracked up to be. However, Snowden doesn’t think this is good enough, and believes that a cyber security company hiring an admitted cyber criminal is a bad sign for ExpressVPN’s customers. Hiring Gericke as a consultant would be one thing, but as a chief executive is definitely a significant move from ExpressVPN. Both Snowden and ExpressVPN present valid points as to whether or not Gericke’s hire is morally sound, so it’s up to you to decide whether ExpressVPN is the right service for you. If you’re in the market for a VPN, try looking at our list of Affordable VPNs. They’re a great entry point into the realm of VPNs, and can help you understand what you’re getting into.
