# ExpressVPN with Pete Membrey

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/rustacean-station/expressvpn-with-pete-membrey
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/rustacean-station/expressvpn-with-pete-membrey.md
Podcast: [Rustacean Station](https://stenobird.com/podcast/rustacean-station)
Published: 2025-03-24T08:09:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rustacean-station.org/episode/pete-membrey/
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audio.rustacean-station.org/file/rustacean-station/2025-03-24-pete-membrey.mp3
Processing state: processed
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/rustacean-station/episodes/expressvpn-with-pete-membrey
Duration seconds: 3487

## Resource

Pete Membrey, Chief Research Officer at Kape Technologies, explains why ExpressVPN is migrating critical components from C to Rust. The discussion highlights how Rust eliminates entire classes of memory-safety vulnerabilities while maintaining low-level performance.

## Highlights
- Main idea: Rust serves as a direct successor to C by providing low-level hardware control without the 'sharp edges' of manual memory management
- Practical takeaway: Using Rust libraries like 'lightway' allows developers to build high-performance networking tools that are inherently protected against buffer overflows
- Failure mode: Relying on C for modern, mobile-centric networking leads to security vulnerabilities that account for a massive percentage of critical bugs
- Comparison: Unlike Go, which excels at web services, Rust is better suited for bare-metal and performance-critical tasks where predictable resource usage is vital
- Learning benefit: Studying Rust's ownership model improves a developer's ability to write better, more efficient code in even higher-level languages like Python

## Topics

Rust programming, Memory safety, ExpressVPN, Systems programming, Cybersecurity, C programming, Software engineering, Network protocols

## Chapters
- 1:00 — Introduction and Background: A brief introduction to Pete Membrey's history in programming, from the Commodore 64 to high-frequency finance.
- 5:20 — Benchmarking and Performance: Discussing the overlap between performance optimization in finance and the benchmarking needs at ExpressVPN.
- 14:10 — Building Secure Libraries: The strategy of creating open-source, library-based implementations that provide safety through callbacks and controlled interfaces.
- 18:30 — The Dangers of C: Reflecting on the memory safety risks and 'finger-slicing' errors common in traditional C development.
- 22:50 — Transitioning to Safe Rust: How the team uses 'unsafe' Rust for specific low-level needs while building the rest of the logic in safe, robust code.
- 31:30 — Rust vs. Go and Zig: Comparing the ecosystem and use cases of Rust, Go, and Zig, particularly regarding concurrency and hardware proximity.
- 53:40 — Security Audits and the Future: The impact of Rust on security audits and why Rust represents 'the way forward' for systems programming.

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## Transcript

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