Texas encryption firm for Dublin

A Texas founded secure e-mail company has transferred all of its US operations to Dublin because of Ireland's relaxed regulatory approach to encryption technology.

Hush Communications (www.hushmail.com) says it intends to employ up to 100 people here by the end of the year. It also plans to make an initial capital investment of "several" million dollars, although specific details were unavailable. The company employs very strong encryption technology to make e-mails travelling over a network completely secure. While strong encryption is currently available to anyone within the US, it cannot be used, except in carefully defined situations, to encode information sent outside US borders.

Because Hush offers its service to users worldwide over the Internet, president and chief executive officer, Mr Jon Gilliam, says it would have been illegal to develop the product in the US. Hush currently has 15 people working at its Hatch Street premises and it is in the process of finding a 15,000 sq ft premises in the city centre.

Mr Gilliam was not prepared to disclose details about the company's revenues or profitability, but said the company was close to securing significant venture capital funding from a US investment bank.

At the moment Hush generates revenues through its onsite advertising. Hushmail.com currently has a base of more than 200,000 users, and the company will begin offering to license the service to companies that want to offer it to their customers in June. Mr Gilliam said Hush would typically target law firms and health care companies that might want to use the secure service.