Internet access and privacy are vital to freedom, says Proton boss

Protonthe security and privacy company in Internetcan detect attacks on democracy in a country before they become public knowledge, simply by observing the demand for its services, assures Andy Yen, president of the company.

When Russia blocked access to independent media after its invasion of Ukraine, the company that offers a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service registered “a 9,000% increase in registrations in a period of a few days”Yen said in an interview.

This Swiss company also recorded an explosion in demand for VPNs, used to bypass internet restrictions, in Iran last October, when authorities further limited access to the network to combat the wave of protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. .

“It was by a factor of 10 at least”Yen says.

From the Proton headquarters, on the outskirts of Geneva, Ywn explains that the company verified that the increase in registrations “almost coincide” with “the places where democracy and freedom are under attack”.

“If there is a coup underway in Africa, we see it in our data before it makes the news”says.

Before founding Proton in 2014, Andy Yen, a 34-year-old physicist specializing in particles, worked at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN, for its French acronym).

“Corporate Surveillance”

Proton, best known for its encrypted email service, views ensuring privacy and internet access as vital tools for defending democracy in the digital age.

“Privacy is essential to freedom”holds.

Yen was born in Taiwan and assures that the threat of China on this island marked his vision of the world.

The Proton leader affirms that the company’s mission has gained urgency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We all see in Ukraine how important it is to have digital technologies that protect privacy and give people freedom of information”he assured.

Therefore, for Yen it is “essential” that companies like Proton remain in countries like Russia or Iran “even if it is at financial loss.”

“If we leave these markets, the consequences are quite serious,” added.

Proton started nine years ago thanks to 10,000 users who raised 500,000 euros ($532,500). It now has more than 70 million users.

The company, Yen explained, distanced itself from the model of other large technology companies such as Google and Facebook, which offer services “free” in exchange for selling user data.

“If you’re a Google user, you’re not really a Google customer. You are a product”said.

Influenced by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) employee who denounced massive digital espionage by US government agencies, Yen says he is more concerned about “corporate surveillance, which is much more massive.”

“If you consider what the NSA may have on you, it’s probably a drop in the bucket compared to what Google and Facebook have.”holds.

The cat and the Mouse

Proton offers encrypted mail and VPN services, but instead of selling its users’ data, it offers monthly subscriptions for less than $10 in exchange for additional features.

The company ensures that the encryption prevents access to the data that transits through its servers and that it cannot deliver the content of these emails to any government that requests it.

This, together with the VPN service, put this 400-employee company in the crosshairs of powerful governments.

“We have had situations in Russia and Iran in which all the resources of the State were thrown against us”says.

“It’s not rockets or missiles flying through the air, but there is certainly a fight for the future of the Russian internet, Iranian internet and the internet in general”assures.

He recalls a sleepless Friday night in October, when Proton’s VPN suffered a massive attack in Iran, prompting them to deploy new VPN technology to make traffic invisible.

This technology, developed to deal with problems in Russia, has yet to be tested on a large scale, and engineers aren’t sure if it will hold up.

For him, the situation in Russia or Iran “It’s a game of cat and mouse”. “I like to think that we are a pretty fast mouse, but the cat is also pretty fast at times”says.

Source: AFP