The acquisition of Zivver by an American company raises many questions. Follow the Money has researched what this means for users. But what can you do to keep track of your own customer data, and is there an alternative to Zivver?
In this article, we outline what the takeover entails and how companies can stay in control.
What is Zivver?
Dutch company Zivver offers encrypted communications. The company is best known for their application for secure emailing, but also offers similar services for chat and documents. Especially municipalities, healthcare institutions, courts and various government agencies use Zivver.
Through a recent acquisition, Zivver has become part of the American company Kiteworks. Kiteworks' management includes individuals who have a history with Israel's elite intelligence community.
And now?
For companies and agencies using Zivver, this means a change in laws and regulations. Because Zivver's parent company is in the U.S., data will no longer be subject to European but U.S. laws and regulations. This means, for example, that the U.S. intelligence community could demand that Zivver disclose customer data.
In addition, research by Follow the Money shows that attachments are sent to servers in readable form before they are encrypted. Zivver denies that this is the case.
What can I do?
Does your company use Zivver? Then it might be wise to critically examine (or have examined) what this means for your customer data. Also check the contract for processing agreements and standard clauses, do they protect against foreign claims?
It may also be advisable to consider alternatives that comply with ISO 27001 Certification and whose owner is based within Europe. In the overview below, we explain the difference between Zivver and a Dutch company like Warpnet with its own solution: Secure Dropzone.
| Secure Dropzone | Zivver | Comments | |
| Data is covered by European legislation. | ✅ | ❎ | Because Kiteworks is an American company, Zivver is no longer subject to strict European legislation. |
| Data remains encrypted and is not readable when sent to the server. | ✅ | ❎ | Zivver indicates that this is not the case. However, research by Follow the Money shows that attachments are readable when sent to servers. |
| ISO 27001 Certification | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Ownership within Europe. | ✅ | ❎ | This ensures that European laws and regulations are followed. |
| Cannot be forced by any government to give up customer data. | ✅ | ❎ | The CLOUD act gives the U.S. intelligence community the right to collect customer data from U.S. companies. Regardless of their location. |
| Automatic clearing of data. | ✅ | ✅ | Data is deleted once every so often. With Secure Dropzone after a period of time selected by you. |
| European servers. | ✅ | ✅ | Zivver's servers do remain within Europe. However, this does not mean that they are subject to European legislation. |
We see it more often
The acquisition of European technology companies by foreign parties is increasingly common. This highlights the importance of proactive governance, taking a critical look at contracts and considering alternatives such as Secure Dropzone. That way, your organization can stay in control.
Want to know what this development can do for your organization or find out if Secure Dropzone is the right choice for your business? Then contact us for a no-obligation discussion.