Silent Circle’s Phil Zimmermann on why it’s shuttering its encrypted email service

You know things are serious when companies that provide encrypted email servers shut themselves down. That’s what happened yesterday with Lavabit, a company that allegedly helped NSA leaker Edward Snowden keep his email conversations private. Well, now news of a another encypted communications company shutting down its email service. Silent Circle helps people talk securely with texting, phone calls, and — until today — email. Counted among their clients: journalists, government officials, and oil companies. Founder and president Phil Zimmermann has decades of experience in secure communication, and tells Marketplace Tech why his company decided to end its encrypted email service.