Innovation & technology

InnoPodcast: data privacy for a free society

Data privacy protects data – but not against analysis by database operators. One person seeking to change that is István Lám, CEO of IT firm Tresorit. He doesn’t just want photos, calendars and lots of other data to be secure, he also wants them to remain private.

Stefan Kern

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István Lám, CEO of IT firm Tresorit

Tresorit provides a secure solution for managing, saving, synchronizing and sharing files for private individuals and companies in the cloud. Data is so secure in its cloud that even the company itself doesn’t know its content – just as a bank doesn’t know what’s inside its customers’ safe deposit boxes. How does it achieve that? Not even Tresorit has access to the cryptographic key.

Unlike other cloud providers, Tresorit gives top priority to security. Companies such as Google also invest heavily in data security but have prioritized extremely simple operation. Once the content of Word documents, calendar entries and more are created, the algorithm can, for example, suggest the PowerPoint with the sales presentation ideal for the 10.00 a.m. appointment. It’s obvious that this kind of convenience can only come from data analysis.

Tresorit takes a different approach: “We don’t make people pay with their data,” says Lám. It ensures full data security and genuine data privacy, which is of particular interest to companies subject to regulatory requirements. But Tresorit also represents a genuine alternative for private individuals. While the cloud may organize the holiday photos thematically, the software can’t do that without reading the images in the background – including facial recognition. If you store your private documents on a (free) cloud, you always need to consider what price you are paying in return.

Tresorit lives up to its customer pledge: protecting information securely. “My personal data belongs to me – and not the person who programmed the database,” says István Lám. In the InnoPodcast, István Lám explains what inspired him to found his own company, what characterizes ultra-secure storage, and how his company even featured on CNN news. Listen to the episode now!

István Lám holds an MSc in Computer Engineering from Budapest University of Technology and Economics. He founded Tresorit in 2011 based on a research project while studying for his master’s degree. The company employs around 120 staff today, with offices in Zurich and Budapest. More than 10,000 companies worldwide, from SMEs to listed companies, put their faith in its patented end-to-end encryption (E2EE). In July 2021, Swiss Post acquired a majority stake in Tresorit.

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Our aim for the InnoPodcast is to share knowledge, inspire and motivate. We present people from both inside and outside Swiss Post’s yellow world who act bravely and actively help shape their company and environment.

written by

Stefan Kern