Wickr

Market position

One of the first mainstream end-to-end encrypted messaging apps, later positioned as a secure collaboration service for enterprises and government within the AWS portfolio, with certifications including FedRAMP High and DoD IL4/5.

Combination of end-to-end encryption where the provider holds no keys, configurable ephemerality, federation for external collaboration, and high-assurance government compliance certifications, delivered on AWS infrastructure with centralized administrative controls.

Technology

End-to-end encrypted messaging, voice and video calling, file sharing and screen sharing built on a zero-trust architecture with 256-bit encryption, message expiration and burn-on-read ephemerality, and bot-based workflow automation. Keys are held only by intended recipients, so the provider cannot access message content. In 2015 the company published a white paper describing its end-to-end encryption protocol; in February 2017 it opened one of its cryptographic protocols for public review on GitHub alongside a paper, "The Wickr Messaging Protocol." The Electronic Frontier Foundation's 2015 Secure Messaging Scorecard gave Wickr 5 of 7 points, awarding credit for encryption in transit, end-to-end encryption, identity verification, forward secrecy and a recent independent security audit, while deducting points because the source code was not open to independent review and the security design was not well documented.

Go-to-market

Sold through AWS, with the service managed via the AWS Management Console and a sales team offering demos and deployment guidance; desktop and mobile apps are distributed directly and through app stores.

Corporations and teams across industries, executives and boards, security and incident response teams, field operators, regulated industries, and public sector customers including government agencies, military organizations, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. Earlier consumer users included journalists, whistleblowers and security-minded groups.

Geography

Originally headquartered in New York City; the AWS Wickr product is operated by Amazon Web Services, Inc. from Seattle, Washington. Earlier commercial activity included a distribution deal with Mexican carrier Iusacell.

History

Wickr was founded in 2012 by Dr. Robert Statica, Kara Coppa, Christopher Howell, Nico Sell and York Sell, and was headquartered in New York City. The Wickr Me messaging app was released in June 2012. Nico Sell served as CEO until May 2015, when the organization split into a for-profit company and the nonprofit Wickr Foundation; Sell became co-chairman of Wickr and CEO of the foundation, while Mark Fields, previously a managing director at CME Group and head of its Strategic Investment Group, took over the commercial business. Fields remained CEO until November 2016, when Joel Wallenstrom, co-founder of iSec Partners, became CEO and president. The Wickr Foundation, which ran a social-impact venture fund seeded by the company, operated from 2015 to 2017. Amazon Web Services acquired Wickr on June 25, 2021. In November 2022 AWS announced the discontinuation of the free consumer app Wickr Me; it stopped accepting new users on December 31, 2022 and shut down on December 31, 2023, with the company concentrating on the business and public sector products AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise.

Risks & controversies

The consumer app drew scrutiny over illegal use: a June 2022 NBC News investigation identified 72 court cases over five years in which defendants allegedly used Wickr to trade child sexual abuse material, with law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children saying the company was not doing enough to detect or report such material; Amazon responded that it prohibits illegal activity, acts on reports and cooperates with law enforcement. Reports also described the app as a hub for drug dealers displaced from dark web marketplaces. Use of the app by public officials raised records-retention concerns, including allegations that McKinsey consultants and New York State corrections officials exchanged project documents over Wickr outside public oversight, and criticism that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's use of the app destroyed government records before any public-records determination. Investor ties to intelligence and defense circles, including In-Q-Tel and Blackwater founder Erik Prince, have also attracted attention, as have government contracts with agencies such as Customs and Border Protection.