Lavabit To Release Code As Open Source, As It Creates Dark Mail Alliance To Create Even More Secure Email
” This whole morning, while all these stories of the NSA hacking directly into Google and Yahoo’s network have been popping up, I’ve been at the Inbox Love conference, all about the future of email. The “keynote” that just concluded, was Ladar Levison from Lavabit (with an assist from Mike Janke from Silent Circle), talking about the just announced Dark Mail Alliance, between Lavabit and Silent Circle — the other “security” focused communications company who shut down its email offering after Lavabit was forced to shut down. Levison joked that they went with “Dark Mail” because “Black Mail” might have negative connotations. Perhaps just as interesting, Levison is going to be releasing the Lavabit source code (and doing a Kickstarter project to support this), with the hope that many others can set up their own secure email using Lavabit’s code, combined with the new Dark Mail Alliance secure technology which will be available next year.
As noted, the Alliance is working on trying to create truly secure and surveillance-proof email. Of course, nothing is ever 100% surveillance proof — and both members of the alliance have previously claimed that it was almost impossible to do surveillance-proof email. However, they’re claiming they’ve had a “breakthrough” that will help.”
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