Twitter Buys Moxie Marlinspike's Crypto Startup

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."

Comments

Great

[GameboyRMH]

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

Re:Great

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Heh.

Maybe between the two of them, they can find a business model.

Re:Great

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I'm pretty sure Whisper System's business model was finding some stupid, bigger company to buy it. And Twitter's business model is definitely to find a large group of stupid people to buy their IPO. So as my PHB would say, there's definitely a sort of synergy to their respective corporate strategies.

Re:Great

[Nerdfest]

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.

Re:Great

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

In Corporate Amerika, Bank robs YOU! :-)

Re:Great

[Beardo the Bearded]

What could possibly go wrong?

If you're a totalitarian regime that cripples the communication of your country to beat the shit out of the populace, plenty.

Twitter has been fucking up countries. Once you get encrypted twitter, it's going to get a lot harder to stay in charge.

Re:Great

[Hentes]

When information was requested about some people associated with Wikileaks they didn't just hand it over silently to the feds, and maybe increment their statistics by one later like Google. They notified the users in question ASAP, and held back the information until the final court order forced them to hand it over.

Re:Great

[ewanm89]

That and the operators don't want it, if google started including certain things by default, the operators are stupid enough to stop allowing android phones on their networks, then HTC, Samsung... stop making them and bam, no more android.

Re:I know

[DataDiddler]

Cryptic? What's so cryptic about the best soda ever created?

Great

[Hentes]

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

Maybe they bought exclusive rights to his name

[swb]

So he'll be forced to use something less grating?

Re:Not so great

[Baloroth]

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).

"Arab Spring"

[bsDaemon]

Possibly Twitter is buying into all the hype about how they're basically responsible for revolution and social change in the Middle East and is doing this to become further entrenched as the tool of choice for political dissidents? I'm pretty sure that's the type of business model that lands your products on trade restriction lists prettt quickly, but I can't see what else they want this for.

Re:"Arab Spring"

[bsDaemon]

I think things are going relatively well in Tunisia at this point, if not Egypt/Syria/Yemen.

Re:His projects have disappeared

[loftwyr]

From their updates page:

"The Transition:

The Whisper Systems software as our users know it will live on (and we have some surprises in store that we're excited about), but there is unfortunately a transition period where we will have to temporarily take our products and services offline. RedPhone service will be interrupted immediately, but FlashBack users have a month to pull off any backup data they would like before that service also goes offline. "

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Trademark

[the eric conspiracy]

Well besides the talents of Mr. Marlinspike and associates which will no doubt be useful, there is the trademark "Whisper" that Twitter is gaining.

So in addition to Tweeting you will be able to Whisper.