It’s hard to trust the cloud. With the NSA coming in one end and hackers coming in through the other, complete encryption is key. That’s what Lockbox is for. The company, founded in 2008, has accepted $2.5 million in seed funding to further roll out their Client Portal and iPad app.
Lockbox offers end-to-end encryption. The system encrypts and compresses files before accepting them into the cloud. These files can then only be opened by users who have the right key. At no point in the transfer can anyone read the file until it is decrypted. “The Client Portal compresses, encrypts, and digitally signs each file before it is uploaded into the Cloud. Files can only be decrypted and read by the invited recipients,” said Lockbox CEO Peter Long. “This makes the information inaccessible to everyone else – including the cloud storage provider and even Lockbox.”
The company has 6,000 paying users and has thus far sold to legal and financial clients. However, given the Internet’s predilection towards insecurity, it could be a good investment for the average Joe or Josephine. The team also built the Bouncy Castle framework that is used to secure Android devices. The company is using the cash infusion to complete their iPad app which allows for encrypted file sharing from iOS as well.
The system works by first encrypting files on your desktop and sending them to the Lockbox cloud. There they can only be read, on the desktop, by users with the right key. Long sees this as a solution for those forced by regulatory concerns to maintain a tight ship. “The Client Portal targets financial planners, accountants and insurance brokers who have a desire to use cloud, but have regulatory or business requirements for secure and private (encrypted) document exchange. Prior to the availability of Client Portal, alternatives were insecure, inefficient and expensive.”
Their Client product is the only one popularly available right now and may be an interesting tool if you’re looking to send sensitive – or not so sensitive – files to clients, friends, family, or the NSA.
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