What is a VPN?

A VPN is a virtual private network (or a tunnel) between a device you are using and a remote server.

A VPN is used for annonymity and confidentiality as traffic is usually encrypted from one end to the other — but that does not always ensure security.

What is a VPN?

A VPN is a virtual private network (or a tunnel) between a device you are using and a remote server.

A VPN is used for annonymity and confidentiality as traffic is usually encrypted from one end to the other — but that does not always ensure security.

SidekickVPN is an AI-enhanced modern VPN for users who want to be in control of their privacy. It is easy to install, easy to use and cost-effective.

The AI part of this project started as an academic thesis by Michael Lescisin under the supervision of Dr. Qusay H. Mahmoud at Ontario Tech University (Canada), to design and develop A Monitoring Framework for Side-Channel Information Leaks, and with the successful development of some algorithms we have been thinking about ways to integrate what we have done in a meaningful project that will be of interest to users worldwide. SidekickVPN was born.

Features of SidekickVPN

Open source

The whole project is open source (GPLv2).

AI-enahnced

Pre-loaded with detection algorithms for common usage patterns, and easily extensible for other usage patterns.

Highly secure

Sidekick VPN uses WireGuard that utilizes well-known and trusted cryptography algorithms.

Self-hosted and ease of deployment

Sidekick VPN uses WireGuard that utilizes well-known and trusted cryptography algorithms.

Secure LAN access

Traditional VPNs only provide users with secure access to the Internet. Sidekick VPN offers that, but in addition you can securely access your LAN while on the go.

Supported by many clients

WireGuard provides clients for a variety of devices except Windows. Windows users can utilize third party applications such as Tunsafe.

Why operate your own VPN?

With a commercial VPN provider, the operator of the remote server can see all unencrypted traffic, and analyze browsing habits, injecting ads, sell information to advertisers, and share information with law enforcement.

Using a commercial VPN (free or paid) does not mean you will be more secure over the Internet unless you’re the operator of the server.

Sidekick VPN enables you to do that seamlessly without writing a single line of code.

To give you an idea of encryption failing to provide privacy, we present a live demo of analysis of encrypted SSH traffic. As you will see, without knowing the decryption keys and simply looking at traffic patterns, we can easily identify the number of characters typed, and possibly the remote command executed. Such information could be used by a machine learning algorithm to measure what a potential adversary can learn.

SidekickVPN helps to solve this issue by providing feedback to the user on potential side-channel information leaks.

How does it work?

Through the monitoring of encrypted network traffic timing and sizing properties as data features, machine learning classifiers are used to generate alerts when patterns matching private activity are detected. Examples of this private activity include executing a command in a remote shell, or typing into an auto-suggest form. The following video clip demonstrates how easy it is to configure and use SidekickVPN.

Applications of SidekickVPN

Secure access
to self-hosted apps on your own private network

Location privacy
to accessed websites

Experiment with
algorithms for traffic analysis

Accessing
geo-blocked websites

Meet the Team

Michael Lescisin
is a Software Developer whose interest lies in using machine learning to improve computer system reliability and security. He is a strong proponent of modular and reusable software construction – design principles present in the creation of SidekickVPN.

Qusay H. Mahmoud, Ph.D., P.Eng 
Dr. Mahmoud is a Professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering at Ontario Tech University (Canada). His research interests include distributed systems and security.

Luke Baal
is a Software Designer and Developer, who enjoys continually learning and applying new programming related topics, such as web development.

If you would like to test SidekickVPN, or experiment with its machine learning algorihtms, please visit our Github repository where we provide a detailed installation guide, and source code.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, you can reach us at:  info@sidekickvpn.com