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by tptacek 4646 days ago
“It is with great regret that I am writing to inform you of the closing of Ziptr, Inc. and the discontinuation of all Ziptr products,” said Bhathena. “Your sense of innovation and willingness to believe in a solution that offered both security and ease of use was a source of energy and inspiration for our company. For that, we are immensely grateful.”

Bhathena and other Ziptr staff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This doesn't sound a whole lot different from any other un-graceful startup shutdowns. Did this service have a lot of users?

Also, is the characterization of Ziptr as an "encryption provider" accurate? Or were they just a secure document storage company? There are a lot of companies that do "document encryption" and "email encryption" for enterprises that are not, as HN privacy enthusiasts understand the term, really crypto products.
2 comments
notwhyships 4646 days ago
"You need to export all of your data from your Ziptr account by 12:00 noon Eastern on Friday, September 27, 2013. After this time, we cannot guarantee access to your data." http://www.ziptr.com/ziptr-closing-92713

That though from Ziptr's 9/24 blog post is unusual: both the ridiculously short time period of 3 days, and the phrase "cannot guarantee."

Also, I find it hard to believe that such a serious serial entrepreneur with such significant backing (approx. $7M) would close up shop so suddenly and unprofessionally. Why burn bridges like this?

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tptacek 4646 days ago
That's also what you'd write if your enterprise software company was betting on last minute hail-marys to keep the lights on, didn't want to admit the bind they were in, and literally ran completely out of money.

Also, if they were concerned about complying with an NSL, why would they offer even 3 days? During those three days, their users would all be surveilled as they pulled their data off the site.

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X4 4646 days ago
Do any of you guys have infos on what crypto they used and how? I've never heard about Ziptr.
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notwhyships 4646 days ago
Pretty cursory:

http://www.ziptr.com/security-and-compliance

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