VirnetX (NYSE: VHC) is a publicly traded Internet security software and technology company based in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.

[4][5][6][7] Robert Dunham Short and Victor Larson co-invented a protocol in 1998[8] that encrypts real-time audio and video transmissions, which was then sought by Apple for their FaceTime app.

[9] In 1999, Dr. Short, Edward Munger, Vic Larson, and Mike Williamson invented a protocol to automatically create hidden Internet connections using DNS.

[10] In December 2002, Short, Munger, Larson, Williamson, and Douglas Schmidt invented a method for assigning unique IP addresses to form secure connections with biometric verification.

[17] That ruling was partially vacated in August 2014, but two patents were confirmed to be infringed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

[18] In December 2014, VirnetX opened access to their Gabriel platform, which builds upon their patents, and is implemented as small to medium-sized business enterprise collaboration software.

[19] In February 2016, an East Texas jury unanimously ruled in federal court that Apple had willfully violated 13 VirnetX patents.

[34] In March 2024, VirnetX and Samsung announced an extension of their partnership, working together to provide technology to scientifically document and analyze unidentified aerial phenomena for History Channel’s The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.