WireGuard
A modern VPN protocol built to be fast and simple — its code is small enough to audit properly, and it connects quicker and runs faster than older protocols.
Full Definition
WireGuard is a modern, streamlined VPN protocol designed as a simpler, faster alternative to OpenVPN and IPSec. Its entire codebase is around 4,000 lines (compared to hundreds of thousands for OpenVPN), making it far easier to audit for security vulnerabilities. WireGuard uses state-of-the-art cryptography (ChaCha20, Curve25519, BLAKE2s) and runs natively in the Linux kernel, providing significantly better throughput and lower latency than user-space VPN implementations. Its main limitation is that it maintains no persistent state — endpoints must be configured with static IPs or use dynamic DNS workarounds. WireGuard is the protocol behind many modern VPN services.
