The pitch: Security and the cloud — there’s a match made in hacker heaven. And it can also be expensive to run, requiring significant up-front set-up costs.
The start-up: iTwin claims to have the answer with some pretty snazzy USB sticks (avail. for Mac and PC) that provide and end-to-end encryption (AES-256) for data. Plug them into a few computers and you can edit and share all of your files and media. It could be a clever, low cost VPN solution for small businesses or start-ups.
The “limitless” aspect comes from the fact that there is no built-in storage in the keys themselves. Rather, you can use as much of your local hard drive space as possible. In essence, the iTwin is just a networking device.
Based in Boston, the small start-up makes a pretty decent argument why this could be a better solution than the cloud. The one problem we see, of course, is that your data is still stored locally. So it’s still vulnerable to loss, etc. From that perspective I’m not convinced this is an apples-to-apples alternative to something like Amazon Web Services S3. Nevertheless is does provide end-to-end security for two users. At only $99 for a package that include both halves (pick your fav: gunmetal grey or lime green… like a Lambo!) you could have a dirt cheap secure networking solution for two users.
If they work as advertised it’s a compelling idea. I’ll have to put them to the test to know for sure if they are in fact worth your time and money!