TextSecure, an Android text messaging client for encrypting messages, is up on GitHub now and other products will follow Twitter plans to open source some of the Android security products built by the developers behind Whisper Systems, which Twitter acquired last month. Twitter is starting with Whisper Systems’ TextSecure, an Android text messaging client that encrypts messages. Developers can view the source code at GitHub. “We hope that as an open source project, TextSecure will be able to reach even more people, with an even larger number of contributors working to make it a great product,” developers and Whisper Systems’ founders Moxie Marlinspike and Stuart Anderson wrote on the Whisper Systems blog. Twitter plans to open source “some” of Whisper Systems software but in a blog post about the move it did not specify which other products it would target. Other products include WhisperCore, software that enables full disk encryption and management tools for Android phones, as well as products that offer voice encryption, firewall software and encrypted backup. When Whisper Systems announced that Twitter was acquiring the company it didn’t say much about what Twitter might be planning to do with the technology. Offering the technology to the community so soon after the acquisition could indicate that Twitter made the acquisition primarily for the developer talent. Whisper Systems’ products fill a void in the Android OS, which lacks the kinds of security features that many businesses want. Few other companies are doing full disk encryption for Android, but there are many other companies taking different approaches to securing and managing Android phones. Among them are 3LM, Good Technology, Sybase, BoxTone, Fiberlink and MobileIron. Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy’s e-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com Related content news analysis Companies are already feeling the pressure from upcoming US SEC cyber rules New Securities and Exchange Commission cyber incident reporting rules don't kick in until December, but experts say they highlight the need for greater collaboration between CISOs and the C-suite By Cynthia Brumfield Sep 28, 2023 6 mins Regulation Data Breach Financial Services Industry news UK data regulator warns that data breaches put abuse victims’ lives at risk The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has reprimanded seven organizations in the past 14 months for data breaches affecting victims of domestic abuse. By Michael Hill Sep 28, 2023 3 mins Electronic Health Records Data Breach Government news EchoMark releases watermarking solution to secure private communications, detect insider threats Enterprise-grade software embeds AI-driven, forensic watermarking in emails and documents to pinpoint potential insider risks By Michael Hill Sep 28, 2023 4 mins Communications Security Threat and Vulnerability Management Security Software news SpecterOps to use in-house approximation to test for global attack variations The new offering uses atomic tests and in-house approximation in purple team assessment to test all known techniques of an attack. By Shweta Sharma Sep 28, 2023 3 mins Penetration Testing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe