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Twitter Buys Moxie Marlinspike's Crypto Startup

Posted by Soulskill on from the break-out-the-140-character-one-time-pad dept.

Sparrowvsrevolution writes "Twitter has confirmed that it's acquiring Whisper Systems, the mobile encryption startup founded by hacker and security researcher Moxie Marlinspike. Marlinspike has built some of the most noteworthy tools in applied cryptography over the last few years, including the encrypted calling app Redphone, the hardened Android OS WhisperCore, and Convergence, a system for fixing the broken SSL certificate authority system. Twitter won't yet say how it plans to integrate Marlinspike or his products."

6 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Great by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A social networking company buying a company that makes security & anonymization software, what could possibly go wrong?

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:Great by Nerdfest · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I would have thought Google would be throwing money at him for his Android encryption stuff. It looks very good but is currently only available for a couple of phones. It would have been a fantastic advantage for getting corporate users on Android in a big way.

  2. Great by Hentes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Twitter is not a social network but a messaging system with an outstanding record in defending it's customers' private data.

  3. Re:Not so great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    On moral grounds? lolwut? Fucking ungrateful freetards...

  4. Re:Not so great by Baloroth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I really don't agree with him selling his software to such a large corporation, on moral grounds. Will the software stay free and open?

    I realize you probably aren't trying to be hypocritical (and aren't strictly speaking), you probably just didn't realize how hypocritical this sounds. Of course you are free to "disagree" with him selling his software... but it's his, and as his, he is free to do with it as he likes. That is fundamentally a part of freedom. And, ultimately, the goal of most human productivity is to profit by it (or at least one of the goals: it doesn't have to be the only or even the main one).

    Also, it is most probable that Twitter realized their security is crap and wants tools, and / or people, who can improve that. Whisper Systems provides both. The moderately recent high-profile Twitter hacks have brought this problem to light, I cannot find fault with Twitter in trying to fix that problem. In fact, I laud them for doing so, if that is why they bought his company (and that seems extremely likely).

    --
    "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
  5. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion