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Lavabit hopes to kickstart Dark Mail protocol by raising $200,000
When Lavabit and Silent Circle announced Dark Mail, they mentioned their goal of getting more providers to use the secure email protocol. To make that happen, Lavabit founder Ladar Levison has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the clean up and release of his defunct email service's source code. Dark Mail's tech encrypts a digital missive's body and metadata to keep them safe from prying eyes. However, as the encryption only works if emails are sent and received from Dark Mail-capable accounts, the project also aims to build open source desktop clients and mobile apps. Before anyone who wants to tinker with Lavabit's code gets excited, though, know that the firm will first have to get past a huge hurdle. The campaign has a lofty funding goal of $196,608, and its decidedly stark Kickstarter page isn't doing it any favors.
Dark Mail Alliance develops surveillance-proof email technology
We wouldn't be surprised if you're looking for a more secure email provider after the whole government surveillance debacle. That's why Lavabit and Silent Circle have joined forces as the Dark Mail Alliance to develop a new snoop-proof email technology. Dark Mail's "Email 3.0" tech applies peer-to-peer encryption not only to the body of the digital missive, but also to its metadata (To:, From: and Subject fields) that third parties are most likely to collect. One downside is that encryption only works between Dark Mail accounts -- messages sent using the tech to Gmail or a Hotmail addresses won't be protected from prying eyes. If the two firms sound familiar, that's because they used to offer secure email services of their own, which shuttered earlier this year. However, they're determined to rise from the ashes and make the tech available to the public via mobile and desktop apps by 2014. [Image credit: g4ll4is, Flickr]
