Internet Hall of Famer and inventor of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) Phil Zimmerman is working on a new system for secure communications, only this time in the form of a mobile app. Silent Circle is a $20 monthly subscription service launching later this year that will decrypt and encrypt email, voice, text, and VOIP transmissions to and from your device.
DEMAND FOR ENCRYPTION SOFTWARE IS A NATURAL CONSEQUENCE OF INCREASED SURVEILLANCE
When two Silent Circle users talk to one another all of their communications will be fully encrypted, with "absolutely no backdoors." Zimmerman points out that the encryption keys are always with the user, and never hosted on the company’s servers, which are located in privacy-friendly Canada.
Considering the state of surveillance in the US, Zimmerman shouldn’t have too much trouble finding customers, but he maintains the product is "really designed for hostile environments" — for example, political dissidents under the eye of the state, and businesspeople working overseas. iOS encryption apps for email and voice aren’t new, but if you’re interested in what Silent Circle has to offer, the company is accepting applications to take part in the summer beta release.