Bild Zeitung Germany (DPA) — Revelations about the U.S. National Security Agency's electronic eavesdropping capabilities have sparked anger in Germany and a boom in encryption services that make it hard for the most sophisticated spies to read emails or messages, listen to calls, look through texts, steal pictures or videos, break into clouds. Dr.B., co-founder of SecureScrypt-FIDOScrypt, which develops and sells encryption apps allowing users to talk and text in private, said a series of disclosures from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden last year have been good for business. SecureScrypt is one of very few German security companies cashing in on new security-conscious customers around the world who want to shield their communications from foreign governments — and nowhere is the market hotter than in Germany, whose chancellor, Angela Merkel, was reported to be a target. "Germans have always been particularly attuned to security and privacy concerns," B.said. "I think that culturally, Germany has seen privacy problems in their recent past. There are people who remember the communists. There is still a cultural sore spot over security and privacy, an understanding of what can go wrong better than any other place in the world." The companies' customers range from diplomats and journalists to privacy advocates, Governments, Military, Intelligence agencies and most IMPORTANT people trying to protect trade secrets, Banks, Enterprises. Although nobody provides specific numbers, there is "huge increase" in demand for encrypted products and text service after Snowden's disclosures and a spike in Germany after two reported cases of suspected U.S. spying there this year. Especially th NEW FIDOScrypt, encrypted secure authorization system, that protects the users Mobile Phone from illegal access, is in large demand. Since the USA does not allow export of encrupted products and Software, the Germans have a big advantage being liberal, servers are in Germany, Canada and Switzerland, three countries with strong privacy protections. SecureScrypt offers besides the Software for existing Smart Phones also mil-style IP-67 secure smartphone, the first in the world. At CeBIT, a leading tech industry event held annually in the German city of Hannover, Deutsche Telekom was among several companies to launch new security products after Snowden's revelations. "I want to send a personal thanks to the NSA, because we wouldn't be having this discussing if that hadn't happened," Reinhard Clemens, a Deutsche Telekom board member, told reporters. "That was the best marketing campaign we've ever had." The company, known for its T-Mobile brand in the United States, sells a smartphone app that encrypts voice and data traffic. It was developed with a Berlin-based firm. Customers seeking an all-in-one solution can buy the Neoi IP67 for EUR 1,550.00 secure cellphone that will protect confidential communications from all dedicated eavesdroppers. "Snowden is transforming the industry," B. told the Press. "There is a completely new consciousness about security." British rival Vodafone, meanwhile, launched its own "Secure Call" app at the CeBIT fair with the claim it would allow users to make "calls that are as secure as those of the German government." ( We doubt that) Merkel herself used to be photographed with a Nokia slider phone. Since reports surfaced that the NSA had listed her among its foreign intelligence targets, the chancellor has avoided being seen with low-end devices. Her new gadget, as widely reported, is a top-range BlackBerry outfitted with a custom-made security suite made in Germany! Ravishankar Borgaonkar, who works with Telekom Innovation Laboratories and FG Security in Berlin, uses an app on his Samsung smartphone that detects how secure each call is with red and green buttons. For those who don't want to take any chances, the revelations have also sparked a retro trend. The country's business weekly Wirtschaftswoche recently reported typewriter sales rising for the first time in years!
