American software company
Wickr is an American software company based in New York City. It is known for its instant messaging application of the same name. The Wickr instant messaging apps allow users to exchange end-to-end encrypted and content-expiring messages, and are designed for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Wickr was acquired by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in mid-2021. The free version of the app was discontinued in December 2023.
History.
Wickr was founded in 2012. Nico Sell served as the company's CEO until May 2015, who then became the co-chairman of Wickr and CEO of Wickr Foundation, a newly launched nonprofit whose seed funding was provided by the company. Mark Fields, who previously led CME's Strategic Investment Group, became the company's CEO. He remained CEO until November 2016 when he was replaced by Joel Wallenstrom, co-founder of iSec Partners, becoming the company's CEO and president.
AWS acquired the company on June 25, 2021. AWS stopped accepting new users to Wickr Me on December 31, 2022, and discontinued it on December 31, 2023.
Branding.
The Wickr name and original logo were created by the Spanish artist Joan Bofill in 2012. In 2016, Daylight Design created a new logo and visual identity for the company.
Products.
Wickr is known for producing secure messaging software, such as "Wickr Me". Their software received media coverage due to a security issue at a rival messaging company, Snapchat.
In 2015, the Electronic Frontier Foundation gave Wickr a score of 5 out of 7 points on their "Secure Messaging Scorecard". It received points for:
The missing 2 points were due to:
In 2015, Wickr published a white paper outlining the encryption protocol that they use for end-to-end encryption.
In 2015, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that Wickr earned four out of five stars in every applicable category for its effort to protect user privacy.
Security programs.
Since its launch, Wickr has undergone regular security audits by information security organizations, which have verified Wickr's code, security, and policies. Wickr has also launched a bug bounty program that offers a reward to hackers who can find a vulnerability in the app.
In December 2016, Wickr announced 'Wickr Professional', a new business collaboration and communication product designed to couple the functionality of tools like Slack with end-to-end encryption and ephemerality.
In February 2017, Wickr opened one of its cryptographic protocols for public review on GitHub and published a paper, “The Wickr Messaging Protocol”, as an aid to those who wish to review the source code. At the time of its publication, the crypto protocol was only used in the company's enterprise product, Wickr Professional. The company said that its consumer product, Wickr Messenger, still uses another protocol and that they intend to replace this protocol with the one that they published.
Expiring messages.
Initially unveiled on iOS and later on Android, the Wickr Me app allows users to set an expiration time for encrypted communications. In December 2014, Wickr released a desktop version of its secure communications platform. The release of the desktop Wickr app coincided with introducing the ability to sync messages across multiple devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and computers.
Use by elected officials related to public disclosure requirements.
After McKinsey &amp; Company was contracted by the New York State Department of Corrections in 2014, top consultants and prison officers allegedly exchanged project documents over Wickr, keeping the procedure off public oversight and record requests.
Government transparency advocates note that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's use of Wickr destroys government records before any determination of whether they should be public can be made, under the Freedom of Information Act and state law.
Funding.
In March 2014, Wickr announced its Series A funding round of $9 million led by Gilman Louie of Alsop Louie Partners. The series also included investments from Juniper Networks and the Knight Foundation.
In June 2014, Wickr announced its Series B funding round of $30 million led by Breyer Capital, including CME Group and Wargaming.
On 12 October 2021, a Vice Motherboard article revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had invested $1.6 million into Wickr via the CIA's venture capital company In-Q-Tel.
Gilman Louie is the former CEO of In-Q-Tel, and other investors, including Richard Clarke and Michael Wertheimer, also have close ties to the U.S. intelligence and national security communities. It is also known that Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private security firm Blackwater, is one of the principal investors.
Wickr Foundation.
The Wickr Foundation is a nonprofit founded by Wickr founder Nico Sell. The foundation operates a social-impact venture fund with a global mission to advance the Private Web and transform how society uses the Internet. In addition to educating the public on privacy and information security, Wickr Foundation is focused on incubating and investing in ideas that revolutionize user control and empower data ownership.
The foundation is dedicated to providing information security and privacy training to human rights activists, policy-makers, children and journalists, and leads several initiatives to raise global awareness of privacy and encourage the development of security-enhancing technologies.
References.
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