NordVPN

Fast, privacy-first VPN with AI-powered Threat Protection Pro

Giskard

Open-source and enterprise AI red-teaming platform for LLM security and quality testing

NordVPN

Strong

20/25

Giskard

Excellent

23/25

Score Breakdown

DimensionNordVPNGiskard

Data Residency

Where is your data stored and processed?

NordVPN: Panamanian incorporation places the company outside Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes jurisdictions. Server infrastructure spans 111 countries. Users can select server location for data egress.

Giskard: EU-incorporated vendor offering EU data residency with SaaS, private-cloud, and full on-premise deployment, plus an explicitly EU-sovereign guardrail product (Guards). Data isolation is a core selling point for regulated customers.

4/5

Panamanian incorporation places the company outside Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes jurisdictions. Server infrastructure spans 111 countries. Users can select server location for data egress.

5/5

EU-incorporated vendor offering EU data residency with SaaS, private-cloud, and full on-premise deployment, plus an explicitly EU-sovereign guardrail product (Guards). Data isolation is a core selling point for regulated customers.

Legal Jurisdiction

Which laws govern the company and your data?

NordVPN: Incorporated in Panama, which has no mandatory data retention laws and is not party to major intelligence-sharing agreements. One of the most favourable VPN jurisdictions for user privacy.

Giskard: Incorporated in France as Giskard SAS with no US parent. Subject to French and EU law and GDPR directly; not exposed to the US CLOUD Act for EU-hosted deployments.

5/5

Incorporated in Panama, which has no mandatory data retention laws and is not party to major intelligence-sharing agreements. One of the most favourable VPN jurisdictions for user privacy.

5/5

Incorporated in France as Giskard SAS with no US parent. Subject to French and EU law and GDPR directly; not exposed to the US CLOUD Act for EU-hosted deployments.

Data Retention & Training

Is your data used for model training?

NordVPN: Audited no-logs policy independently verified by PwC (2019, 2020, 2022) and Deloitte (2023). No connection timestamps, IP addresses, traffic data, or session duration retained.

Giskard: States a zero-training policy on customer data with IP protection, and offers data isolation plus enterprise retention controls via private-cloud/on-premise deployment. DPA available as an EU SOC 2 / HIPAA vendor.

5/5

Audited no-logs policy independently verified by PwC (2019, 2020, 2022) and Deloitte (2023). No connection timestamps, IP addresses, traffic data, or session duration retained.

5/5

States a zero-training policy on customer data with IP protection, and offers data isolation plus enterprise retention controls via private-cloud/on-premise deployment. DPA available as an EU SOC 2 / HIPAA vendor.

Certifications

ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, etc.

NordVPN: ISO 27001 certified. No-logs policy independently audited. Lacks SOC 2 Type II, which would provide additional assurance for enterprise procurement teams.

Giskard: SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliance are publicly stated. ISO 27001 was not found in public sources, which would strengthen the posture; certifications scored on the confirmed SOC 2 Type II.

3/5

ISO 27001 certified. No-logs policy independently audited. Lacks SOC 2 Type II, which would provide additional assurance for enterprise procurement teams.

3/5

SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliance are publicly stated. ISO 27001 was not found in public sources, which would strengthen the posture; certifications scored on the confirmed SOC 2 Type II.

Regulatory Fit

Suitability for regulated industries and professional services

NordVPN: Strong fit for privacy-conscious individuals and organisations. GDPR-compliant for EU customers. Not certified for regulated industry verticals (healthcare, finance) beyond general network privacy.

Giskard: Purpose-built for AI assurance in regulated EU industries, with named financial-sector customers (AXA, BNP Paribas) and EU-sovereign deployment aligned to the EU AI Act's testing and risk-management expectations.

3/5

Strong fit for privacy-conscious individuals and organisations. GDPR-compliant for EU customers. Not certified for regulated industry verticals (healthcare, finance) beyond general network privacy.

5/5

Purpose-built for AI assurance in regulated EU industries, with named financial-sector customers (AXA, BNP Paribas) and EU-sovereign deployment aligned to the EU AI Act's testing and risk-management expectations.

Total Score

20/25

23/25

Best For

NordVPN

Best for EU-headquartered organisations needing maximum data sovereignty; regulated industries (CNIL, BaFin); privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; organisations that need self-hosted or on-premise deployment; teams on a tight budget.

Giskard

Best for privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls.

Detailed Comparison

Giskard vs NordVPN: Trust & Compliance Comparison

Giskard (Giskard, FR) scores 23/25 overall with a Gold (Excellent) trust badge. Open-source and enterprise AI red-teaming platform for LLM security and quality testing. NordVPN (Nord Security, PA) scores 20/25 with a Silver (Strong) trust badge. Fast, privacy-first VPN with AI-powered Threat Protection Pro.

Dimension-by-Dimension Breakdown

#### Data Residency

Giskard leads with 5/5 vs 4/5.

●Giskard (5/5): EU-incorporated vendor offering EU data residency with SaaS, private-cloud, and full on-premise deployment, plus an explicitly EU-sovereign guardrail product (Guards). Data isolation is a core selling point for regulated customers.

●NordVPN (4/5): Panamanian incorporation places the company outside Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes jurisdictions. Server infrastructure spans 111 countries. Users can select server location for data egress.

#### Legal Jurisdiction

Both score equally at 5/5.

●Giskard (5/5): Incorporated in France as Giskard SAS with no US parent. Subject to French and EU law and GDPR directly; not exposed to the US CLOUD Act for EU-hosted deployments.

●NordVPN (5/5): Incorporated in Panama, which has no mandatory data retention laws and is not party to major intelligence-sharing agreements. One of the most favourable VPN jurisdictions for user privacy.

#### Data Retention & Training

Both score equally at 5/5.

●Giskard (5/5): States a zero-training policy on customer data with IP protection, and offers data isolation plus enterprise retention controls via private-cloud/on-premise deployment. DPA available as an EU SOC 2 / HIPAA vendor.

●NordVPN (5/5): Audited no-logs policy independently verified by PwC (2019, 2020, 2022) and Deloitte (2023). No connection timestamps, IP addresses, traffic data, or session duration retained.

#### Certifications

Both score equally at 3/5.

●Giskard (3/5): SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliance are publicly stated. ISO 27001 was not found in public sources, which would strengthen the posture; certifications scored on the confirmed SOC 2 Type II.

●NordVPN (3/5): ISO 27001 certified. No-logs policy independently audited. Lacks SOC 2 Type II, which would provide additional assurance for enterprise procurement teams.

#### Regulatory Fit

Giskard leads with 5/5 vs 3/5.

●Giskard (5/5): Purpose-built for AI assurance in regulated EU industries, with named financial-sector customers (AXA, BNP Paribas) and EU-sovereign deployment aligned to the EU AI Act's testing and risk-management expectations.

●NordVPN (3/5): Strong fit for privacy-conscious individuals and organisations. GDPR-compliant for EU customers. Not certified for regulated industry verticals (healthcare, finance) beyond general network privacy.

Certifications at a Glance

Certification	Giskard	NordVPN
HIPAA	Yes	No
ISO 27001	No	Yes
SOC 2 Type II	Yes	No

Overall Verdict

Giskard has a clear trust advantage, scoring 23/25 compared to NordVPN's 20/25. Giskard particularly excels in data residency, regulatory fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, NordVPN or Giskard?

NordVPN has a TrustKit score of 20/25 while Giskard scores 23/25. Giskard currently rates higher across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

How do NordVPN and Giskard compare on data residency?

NordVPN scores 4/5 for data residency (Panamanian incorporation places the company outside Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes jurisdictions. Server infrastructure spans 111 countries. Users can select server location for data egress.), while Giskard scores 5/5 (EU-incorporated vendor offering EU data residency with SaaS, private-cloud, and full on-premise deployment, plus an explicitly EU-sovereign guardrail product (Guards). Data isolation is a core selling point for regulated customers.).

Are NordVPN and Giskard GDPR compliant?

Both tools are assessed across five compliance dimensions. NordVPN has a regulatory fit score of 3/5 and Giskard scores 5/5. Check the full comparison above for a detailed breakdown.

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