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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Secure instant messaging |
Founded | 2012 |
Founder | Dr. Robert Statica, Kara Coppa, Christopher Howell, Nico Sell, York Sell |
Headquarters | New York , United States |
Key people |
|
Parent | Amazon Web Services |
Website | www |
Wickr is an American software company based in New York City, [1] known for its instant messenger application of the same name. The Wickr instant messaging apps allow users to exchange end-to-end encrypted and content-expiring messages, and are designed for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Wickr was acquired by Amazon Web Services (AWS) mid-2021 and discontinued the free version of the app in December 2023.
Wickr was founded in 2012. [2] Nico Sell served as the company's CEO until May 2015. She then became the co-chairman of Wickr and CEO of Wickr Foundation, the newly launched nonprofit whose seed funding was provided by the company. [3] Mark Fields, who previously led CME's Strategic Investment Group, became the company's CEO. [4] He remained CEO until November 2016, when he was replaced by Joel Wallenstrom, co-founder of iSec Partners, becoming the company's CEO and President. [5] [6]
AWS acquired the company on 25 June 2021, [7] stopped accepting new users to Wickr Me on 31 December 2022, and discontinued that service on 31 December 2023. [8] [9]
The Wickr name and original logo were created by the Spanish artist Joan Bofill in 2012. In 2016, Daylight Design created a new logo and visual identity for the company. [10]
Developer(s) | Wickr Inc. |
---|---|
Initial release | June 2012 |
Final release(s) | |
Operating system | Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, iOS, Android |
Type | Instant Messaging |
License | Proprietary |
Website | wickr |
Wickr is known for producing secure messaging software, such as "Wickr Me". Their software received media coverage due to a security issue at a rival messaging company, Snapchat. [16]
In 2015, the Electronic Frontier Foundation gave Wickr a score of 5 out of 7 points on their "Secure Messaging Scorecard". [17] It received points for:
It was missing points because:
In 2015, Wickr published a white paper outlining the encryption protocol that they use for end-to-end encryption. [18]
In 2015, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that Wickr earned four stars (out of five) in every applicable category for its effort to protect user privacy. [19]
Since its launch, Wickr has undergone regular security audits by information security organizations, which have verified Wickr's code, security, and policies. [20] Wickr has also launched a bug bounty program that offers a reward to hackers who can find a vulnerability in the app. [21]
In December 2016, Wickr announced Wickr Professional, a new business collaboration and communication product designed to couple the functionality of tools like Slack with end-to-end encryption and ephemerality. [22]
In February 2017, Wickr opened one of its crypto protocols for public review on GitHub and published a paper, “The Wickr Messaging Protocol”, as an aid to those who wish to review the source code. [23] [24] [25] At the time of its publication, the crypto protocol was only used in the company's enterprise product, Wickr Professional. [24] The company said that its consumer product, Wickr Messenger, still uses another protocol and that they intend to replace this protocol with the one that they published. [24]
Initially unveiled on iOS and later on Android, the Wickr Me app allows users to set an expiration time for encrypted communications. [26] In December 2014, Wickr released a desktop version of its secure communications platform. The release of the desktop Wickr app coincided with introducing the ability to sync messages across multiple devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and computers. [27]
Government transparency advocates note that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's use of Wickr destroys government records before any determination of whether they should be public can be made, under the Freedom of Information Act and state law. [28]
In March 2014, Wickr announced its Series A funding round of $9 million led by Gilman Louie of Alsop Louie Partners. The series also included investments from Juniper Networks and the Knight Foundation. [29]
In June 2014, Wickr announced its Series B funding round of $30 million led by Breyer Capital, including CME Group and Wargaming. [30]
On 12 October 2021, a Vice Motherboard article revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had invested $1.6 million into Wickr via the CIA's venture capital company In-Q-Tel. [31]
Gilman Louie is the former CEO of In-Q-Tel, and other investors, including Richard Clarke and Michael Wertheimer, also have close ties to the U.S. intelligence and national security communities. It is also known that Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private security firm Blackwater, is one of the principal investors. [32]
The Wickr Foundation is a non-profit founded by Wickr founder Nico Sell. [33]
The foundation operates a social-impact venture fund with a global mission to advance the Private Web and transform how society uses the Internet. [34] In addition to educating the public on privacy and information security, Wickr Foundation is focused on incubating and investing in ideas that revolutionize user control and empower data ownership. [35]
The foundation is dedicated to providing information security and privacy training to human rights activists, policy-makers, children, and journalists, and leads several initiatives to raise global awareness of privacy and encourage the development of security-enhancing technologies. [36] [37]
Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing immediate transmission of messages over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and triggers a transmission to the recipient(s), who are all connected on a common network. It differs from email in that conversations over instant messaging happen in real-time. Most modern IM applications use push technology and also add other features such as emojis, file transfer, chatbots, voice over IP, or video chat capabilities.
Pidgin is a free and open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple that has support for many instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to simultaneously log in to various services from a single application, with a single interface for both popular and obsolete protocols, thus avoiding the hassle of having to deal with new software for each device and protocol.
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a private communication system in which only communicating users can participate. As such, no one, including the communication system provider, telecom providers, Internet providers or malicious actors, can access the cryptographic keys needed to converse.
In cryptography, forward secrecy (FS), also known as perfect forward secrecy (PFS), is a feature of specific key-agreement protocols that gives assurances that session keys will not be compromised even if long-term secrets used in the session key exchange are compromised, limiting damage. For HTTPS, the long-term secret is typically the private key of the server. Forward secrecy protects past sessions against future compromises of keys or passwords. By generating a unique session key for every session a user initiates, the compromise of a single session key will not affect any data other than that exchanged in the specific session protected by that particular key. This by itself is not sufficient for forward secrecy which additionally requires that a long-term secret compromise does not affect the security of past session keys.
Cryptocat is a discontinued open-source desktop application intended to allow encrypted online chatting available for Windows, OS X, and Linux. It uses end-to-end encryption to secure all communications to other Cryptocat users. Users are given the option of independently verifying their buddies' device lists and are notified when a buddy's device list is modified and all updates are verified through the built-in update downloader.
Messenger, also known as Facebook Messenger, is an American proprietary instant messaging app and platform developed by Meta Platforms. Originally developed as Facebook Chat in 2008, the company revamped its messaging service in 2010, released standalone iOS and Android apps in 2011, and released standalone Facebook Portal hardware for Messenger calling in 2018. In April 2015, Facebook launched a dedicated website interface, Messenger.com, and separated the messaging functionality from the main Facebook app, allowing users to use the web interface or download one of the standalone apps. In April 2020, Facebook released a Messenger desktop app for Windows and macOS.
Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before they become inaccessible to their recipients. The app has evolved from originally focusing on person-to-person photo sharing to presently featuring users' "Stories" of 24 hours of chronological content, along with "Discover", letting brands show ad-supported short-form content. It also allows users to store photos in a password-protected area called "my eyes only". It has also reportedly incorporated limited use of end-to-end encryption, with plans to broaden its use in the future.
Silent Circle is an encrypted communications firm based in Washington DC. Silent Circle provides multi-platform secure communication services for mobile devices and desktops. Launched October 16, 2012, the company operates under a subscription business model. The encryption part of the software used is free software/open source and peer-reviewed. For the remaining parts of Silent Phone and Silent Text, the source code is available on GitHub, but under proprietary software licenses.
Secure instant messaging is a form of instant messaging. Both terms refer to an informal means for computer users to exchange messages commonly referred to as "chats". Instant messaging can be compared to texting as opposed to making a mobile phone call. In the case of messaging, it is like the short form of emailing. Secure instant messaging is a specialized form of instant messaging that along with other differences, encrypts and decrypts the contents of the messages such that only the actual users can understand them.
Telegram Messenger, commonly known as Telegram, is a cloud-based, cross-platform, encrypted instant messaging (IM) service. It was originally launched for iOS on 14 August 2013 and Android in October 2013. It allows users to exchange messages, share media and files, and hold private and group voice or video calls as well as public livestreams. It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, and web browsers. Telegram also offers end-to-end encryption in voice and video calls, and in optional private chats, which Telegram calls Secret Chats.
Surespot was a free open-source instant messaging application for Android and iOS with a focus on privacy and security. It was shut down on July 31, 2022.
TextSecure was an encrypted messaging application for Android that was developed from 2010 to 2015. It was a predecessor to Signal and the first application to use the Signal Protocol, which has since been implemented into WhatsApp and other applications. TextSecure used end-to-end encryption to secure the transmission of text messages, group messages, attachments and media messages to other TextSecure users.
Open Whisper Systems was a software development group that was founded by Moxie Marlinspike in 2013. The group picked up the open source development of TextSecure and RedPhone, and was later responsible for starting the development of the Signal Protocol and the Signal messaging app. In 2018, Signal Messenger was incorporated as an LLC by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton and then rolled under the independent 501c3 non-profit Signal Technology Foundation. Today, the Signal app is developed by Signal Messenger LLC, which is funded by the Signal Technology Foundation.
Threema is a paid cross-platform encrypted instant messaging app developed by Threema GmbH in Switzerland and launched in 2012. The service operates on a decentralized architecture and offers end-to-end encryption. Users can make voice and video calls, send photos, files, and voice notes, share locations, and make groups. Unlike many other popular secure messaging apps, Threema does not require phone numbers or email addresses for registration, only a one-time purchase that can be paid via an app store or anonymously with Bitcoin or cash.
Wire Swiss GmbH is a software company with headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. Its development center is in Berlin, Germany. The company is best known for its messaging application called Wire.
Signal is an encrypted messaging service for instant messaging, voice, and video calls. The instant messaging function includes sending text, voice notes, images, videos, and other files. Communication may be one-to-one between users or may involve group messaging.
The Signal Protocol is a non-federated cryptographic protocol that provides end-to-end encryption for voice and instant messaging conversations. The protocol was developed by Open Whisper Systems in 2013 and was first introduced in the open-source TextSecure app, which later became Signal. Several closed-source applications have implemented the protocol, such as WhatsApp, which is said to encrypt the conversations of "more than a billion people worldwide" or Google who provides end-to-end encryption by default to all RCS-based conversations between users of their Google Messages app for one-to-one conversations. Facebook Messenger also say they offer the protocol for optional Secret Conversations, as does Skype for its Private Conversations.
Wire is an encrypted communication and collaboration app created by Wire Swiss. It is available for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and web browsers such as Firefox. Wire offers a collaboration suite featuring messenger, voice calls, video calls, conference calls, file-sharing, and external collaboration – all protected by a secure end-to-end-encryption. Wire offers three solutions built on its security technology: Wire Pro – which offers Wire's collaboration feature for businesses, Wire Enterprise – includes Wire Pro capabilities with added features for large-scale or regulated organizations, and Wire Red – the on-demand crisis collaboration suite. They also offer Wire Personal, which is a secure messaging app for personal use.
This article provides a detailed chronological account of the historical reception and criticism of security and privacy features in the WhatsApp messaging service.
xx messenger is a cross-platform decentralized encrypted instant messaging service developed by PrivaTegrity Corporation. Messages are delivered over a variety of mix network first described in 2016. Users can send one-to-one and group messages, which can include voice notes and images.
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