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Lavabit abruptly shuts down

lavabit.com

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Re: Lavabit abruptly shuts down

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you have to get the data there. It most certainly isn't protected in transit.

Anything that I really care about will be. And if this is just bulk data, there's tar -czf | gpg -e | ssh

Okay well, no legal protection.

Re: Lavabit abruptly shuts down

#155
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moving services off USA-based companies is like using two bicycle locks instead of one. A determined government is still going to get your data, they just need to spend a bit more time. Focus instead on encryption.

It is just as bad or worse. You have to move the data in/out of the country. It definitely isn't protected when it leaves the country. The only advantage I see is that it punishes US businesses for failing to protest.

I don't blame the companies; they're about as much a victim of USgov as we are IMHO. That being said, if all the online-storage/cloud-server/email-providers/social-whatever companies in US start going out of business because nobody trusts them I strongly suspect something will have to change. It's just too bad we have to do a "scorched earth"[1] to bring about change.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_earth

Re: Lavabit abruptly shuts down

#156
post #24

I'm in the process of moving any Saas offerings I use off USA-affiliated companies, but it's actually more difficult than I first thought. I believe there might even be a very profitable market in simply duplicating the functionality of Saas offerings at a higher price with security/privacy guarantees in Germany/HK/etc. Might be the next hot business to be in? You'd be surprised as to the number of people seeking alt…

> I'm in the process of moving any Saas offerings I use off USA-affiliated companies, but it's actually more difficult than I first thought. You should try finding a SSL cert retailer that's outside of the US. The only ones I could find that would actually sell me certs without a phone call charged at least $200 for a basic certificate. https://swisssign.com/en were the most sensible looking ones I could find.

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Re: Lavabit abruptly shuts down

#158
post #108
post #24

I'm in the process of moving any Saas offerings I use off USA-affiliated companies, but it's actually more difficult than I first thought. I believe there might even be a very profitable market in simply duplicating the functionality of Saas offerings at a higher price with security/privacy guarantees in Germany/HK/etc. Might be the next hot business to be in? You'd be surprised as to the number of people seeking alt…

Moving services off USA-based companies is like using two bicycle locks instead of one. A determined government is still going to get your data, they just need to spend a bit more time. Focus instead on encryption.

Customers and law may demand that the data is stored in the EU. For businesses with demands hosting in the US is simply not an option.

This was a concern earlier but my guess is that this will only increase in the near future.

Re: Lavabit abruptly shuts down

#159
post #12

From 2011: > Lavabit processes 70 gigabytes of data per day, is made up of 26 servers, hosts 260,000 email addresses, and processes 600,000 emails a day. That’s a lot of email. http://www.dbasoul.com/2011/1008.html Update: According to their stats page, they had 410k email accounts hosted before shutdown https://twitter.com/georgemaschke/status/365553445538775040

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