The Amazon company will provide Wickr’s services with immediate effect

AWS Texas

Encrypted messaging app developer Wickr acquired by AWS. (Credit: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States/Wikimedia Commons)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has acquired Wickr, a New York-based end-to-end encrypted, communication technology provider, for an undisclosed price.

Founded in 2012, Wickr developed an encrypted instant messaging app of the same name.

According to AWS, customers and partners can avail Wickr’s advanced security features that are not offered by conventional communications services. The security features are offered across messaging, voice and video calling, sharing of files, and also collaboration.

AWS said that Wickr’s solutions provide government agencies and security conscious enterprises the ability to implement key governance and security controls to help them cope up with their compliance needs.

Wickr is said to be used by customers in the public sector for a diverse variety of missions, ranging from secure communications with office-based employees to offering encrypted communications to service members at the tactical edge.  The messaging app is protected by 256-bit authenticated end-to-end encryption.

Enterprise customers also use the encrypted instant messaging app to ensure that communications between employees and business partners are private, while remaining compliant with regulatory needs.

AWS vice president and chief information security officer Stephen Schmidt, in a company blog, wrote: “The need for this type of secure communications is accelerating. With the move to hybrid work environments, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprises and government agencies have a growing desire to protect their communications across many remote locations.

“Wickr’s secure communications solutions help enterprises and government organizations adapt to this change in their workforces and is a welcome addition to the growing set of collaboration and productivity services that AWS offers customers and partners.”

AWS said that it is providing Wickr services with immediate effect. The company said that the acquisition will have no impact on Wickr’s existing customers, channel, and business partners.

Earlier this month, AWS said that it will open a new infrastructure region called AWS Israel (Tel Aviv) Region by setting up new data centres in Israel in the first half of 2023. The company had also recently announced an investment of €2.5bn to set up the new AWS Europe (Spain) Region by opening new data centres in Aragon, Spain.