Encrypted email believed to be used by Snowden shut down by US authorities

**San Francisco:**An encrypted email servicebelieved to have been used by US leaker Edward Snowden, hasbeen shut down apparently as a result of pressure from USauthorities.

Lavabit owner Ladar Levison yesterday posted a message atthe website telling users that the he was pulling the plug onthe secure email service launched in Texas nearly a decadeago.

“I have been forced to make a difficult decision: tobecome complicit in crimes against the American people or walkaway from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting downLavabit,” Levison said.

[caption id=“attachment_1022875” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Edward Snowden[/caption]

“After significant soul searching, I have decided tosuspend operations.“Levison lamented that he was barred from sharing detailsof what prompted Lavabit’s demise.US law allows national security officials to makerequeststo companies that come with the caveat they must be kept
secret.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

“As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiencesover the last six weeks, even though I have twice made theappropriate requests,” Levison said.

Lavabit was put in the spotlight after it was reportedthat former US National Security Agency contractor Snowden wasusing the service to exchange messages while he was holed-upin the Moscow airport.

Snowden is a fugitive from US justice and is currentlyliving at an unknown location in Russia after Moscow grantedhim temporary asylum for a year on August 1.