Notes

SpiderOak: A file sharing software

SpiderOak was founded in 2007 by Ethan Oberman and Alan Fairless as an encrypted
private backup program. In 2013, SpiderOak began developing the Crypton framework, "a
JavaScript framework for building applications where the server doesn't know the contents it's
storing on behalf of users. Crypton is an open-source project allowing developers to easily
add encryption security to mobile applications. By mid-2014, SpiderOak neared 1 million users.
SpiderOak is headquartered in Chicago and currently employs 42 staff, headed by CEO Alan
Fairless. SpiderOak has offices in Chicago and Kansas City, and hires remote employees inside
and outside of the US.
In February 2017, SpiderOak discontinued using the phrase "zero knowledge" to describe their
service following public criticism that the phrase conflicted with the mechanism
behind cryptographic zero-knowledge proofs. SpiderOak adopted the phrase "no knowledge" for
their marketing.
On August 1, 2018, the warrant canary on their website briefly vanished, followed by some
system downtime. It was then replaced by a transparency report. Five days later, the canary was
re-signed using GPG encryption. By August 9, SpiderOak had also updated their transparency
report, making a statement concerning the canary. It is impossible to tell if the change was
internally driven or canary was tripped and the company has been compelled by court order to
hide the fact.
SpiderOak is a US-based collaboration tool, online backup and file hosting service that
allows users to access, synchronize and share data using a based server, offered by a company of
the same name. SpiderOak is accessible through an app for Windows, Mac and Linux computer
platforms, and Android, N900 Maemo and iOS mobile platforms.
According to SpiderOak, the software uses encrypted cloud storage and client-side
encryption key creation, so SpiderOak employees cannot access users' information. SpiderOak
distinguishes itself from its competition in provision of encryption, in provision for syncing files
and folders across multiple devices, and in automatic de-duplication of data.
Some components of SpiderOak are open-source, and as early as 2009 the company announced
their intent for the client to be fully open-source in the future. As of 2016, SpiderOak ONE's
source code is only available for mobile platforms, with no current plans to open source the
desktop client. SpiderOak's password manager Encrypt is open source; the source code for its
group messaging application Semaphor is published to allow auditing.
In a July 2014 interview, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden recommended SpiderOak
over Dropbox, citing its better protection against government surveillance.