Secure communications provider Silent Circle Inc. announced to customers Thursday that it had shut down its email service, Reuters reported.
The announcement from co-founder Jon Callas came soon after the secure email provider allegedly used by Edward Snowden, Lavabit, cryptically announced it was shuttering in the face of what seemed to be government requests for user information.
In a blog post, Callas said that the company saw the “writing on the wall” when Lavabit shut down their system.
“We see the writing the wall, and we have decided that it is best for us to shut down Silent Mail now,” Callas wrote. “We have not received subpoenas, warrants, security letters, or anything else by any government, and this is why we are acting now.”
Email “cannot have the same security guarantees that real-time communications has,” according to Callas, but he assured the company would continue to offer secure phone calls and text messaging.
[Image via PRNewsFhoto/Silent Circle]
