Lavabit founder Ledar Levison has opened a new Kickstarter project, hoping to offer an upgraded version of the Lavabit source code for a new encrypted, open source email client.
Ledar Levision became a hero on the front lines of the privacy movement after shutting down Lavabit email client rather than give information over to the NSA. However, his dreams are far from over.
The Dark Mail initiative is part of Levison’s attempt to offer the same kind of protected communication platform that he has before, but with no opportunities to break through to the messages beneath.
“No one can guarantee that a third-party is or is not eavesdropping on a series of communications, but Dark Mail can guarantee that when a third-party does gain access, or demands access, the privacy users rightfully deserve is maintained without fail,” the project description said.
Dark Mail, a newly developed messaging protocol, is designed to provide end-to-end encryption of both the message itself and the email in transit. Because encryption will be integrated into the protocol itself, it will be invisible to the user.
Obviously, this is going to require a great deal of work from some very talented, experienced developers. They will also have to be willing to take a risk in creating such an end to end encryption code. Levison himself has shown the price of standing up to the current climate of surveillance that is continuing on despite exposure.
Anyone who is reading this and is interested in possibly being a part of the client’s development can contact Levison and his current team. They are looking for anyone with experience with open source software, who are familiar with C, Javascript, HTML, SQL and JSON.
I have to admit, seeing this project being started is a thrill. Not only is it a necessary step in reestablishing some security in online communication, and so a boon to the various communities (especially activists around the world). It is also a rather defiant statement against a government that continues to violate the very core values they claim to represent and protect.
If you are interested in eventually using this type of email platform, or if you just support the ideal behind it, please donate. Every little bit helps, and they have 22 days to reach their goal of $196,608. So far they have hit a bit over $27,700 as of this writing. Which is a great result, but far from where they need to be to pull this off.
Source: Kickstarter
