Cyphertite Review
UPDATE: Cyphertite Service Shut Down August 18, 2015
Cyphertite was founded in 2010 by CEO Jake Yocom-Piatt, along with CTO Marco Peereboom, who have both worked sometime within the cloud storage industry. Cyphertite is a product of Conformal Systems, the open source software engineering firm known for their security focused solutions. What makes Cyphertite stand out as a cloud storage provider is that much like its parent company, it is extremely security focused. Yet, that’s not all. Though Cyphertite is built on an intricately complex system, the userface is laid out in the familiar Windows interface so all levels of users should feel comfortable using this service. We would recommend this service to any user concerned about the security of their files, but particularly the more technologically advanced user.
Features
Other than their supreme security, Cyphertite are unique in that they have a CLI. This allows system administrators and power users personalization, and to really get the most from this service. Other features include:
- 8GB Free storage
- Scheduled Backups
- Selective Backups
- Integrated with Windows for right click to backup
- Tray notifications
- Create Backup page allows for customization
It is also important to note that Cyphertite uses deduplication for their service. Though many cloud storage providers also do this, few of them do so in combination with end to end encryption. There are only a small number of companies that offer this service for home that do both, which causes users to have to choose between optimum security or being able to maximize storage spaces. Thankfully with Cyphertite, this is not the case.
Security
Security is very clearly Cyphertites crowning glory. Their servers only house data that is encrypted end to end in order to protect user data. Cyphertite uses 256-bit AES-XTS to encrypt chunks prior to upload. Additionally, Cyphertite uses NSA Suite B cryptography for transport encryption, with certificates on each side signed by a 521-bit ECDSA key.
This has three benefits. Firstly, this protects your data from being hacked during the transfer process. Secondly, since all the files are encrypted before they arrive on Cyphertite’s datacenters, no Cyphertite employee can open your files and see what you are storing. Finally, as a result of this, if the situation arises that by some freak chance their servers are compromised or they are forced to grant access to your files as the result of a subpoena or legal disclosure order, the files will not be accessible without your direct involvement.
For those who are interested in the specifics, the security protocol used by Cyphertite is HA512ECDH-ECDSA-AES256-SHA SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(256) Mac=SHA1.
Ease of Use
As mentioned earlier, Cyphertite have catered this service so that even the novice user won’t be frightened away. It is laid out in the familiar Windows style, and the dashboard is extremely clean and streamlined so users are shown only what they need, and are thus not bombarded with unnecessary tabs and information. The home screen uses live tiles that provide context information, which would be quite familiar to Windows and Windows Phone users. Backups can be set up to a schedule backups with backup history and management pages. Users can also set up separate backup jobs for different files so not all files are backed at the same time, saving bandwidth.
Cyphertite Settings Page
Pricing
Cyphertite offer three packages: ‘Basic’, is a free package which includes 8GB storage. The ‘Personal’ package offers unlimited storage, US based support and costs $10 per month. The third package is their ‘Premium’ package. This is a pay per usage model that costs $0.10 per GB per month and includes: enhanced transfer speeds, priority US support and free installation, deployment and consultations.
Customer Support
Cyphertite falls a little short with their support service. They do not offer live chat or phone support as you would expect with a service of this caliber. However, they do offer email support with an extremely helpful support team that really shines with their technical knowledge and understanding of their service. Cyphertite also has as FAQ section as well as a wiki available, with answers to the more common questions.
Summary
If you are looking for a service that puts your security first and foremost, Cyphertite could be for you. They have a cleanly laid out dashboard and the key features that every user needs. They offer 8GB of free storage which is significantly larger than the 2GB offered by most other providers on the ‘Freemium’ model. It is also refreshing to see a provider that takes their service seriously but they don’t take themselves too seriously. They have a few fun and silly videos on their media page that are worth checking out.
