Kim Dotcom’s MEGA - Massive demand
Firebrand Training
22 January, 2013
The cyber pioneer, Kim Dotcom and founder of the now obsolete Megaupload, has launched the new cloud file storage and sharing site called ‘MEGA’ on Sunday at his New Zealand mansion – mega.co.nz
The service was released exactly one year after his New Zealand mansion was raided by authorities who also shut down his highly successful site - Megaupload. The site was known to hold pirated materials, but charges against him were dropped.
Kim Dotcom briefly spoke on the shutdown of his previous site in the MEGA launch Press Conference. He stated that “The allegations against us are wrong, we are innocent and we will prevail.”
The site has started off extremely well. Dotcom has stated that over half a million users had already signed up in the first 14 hours. Some are estimating that it has now passed the one million mark. Although it could be getting a little too much for him as he admits his new file-sharing site is struggling to keep up with massive demand.
Dotcom designed the site to be more protected from future charges. The difference from Megaupload is that all the files are now encrypted using a 2048-bit RSA key. Meaning that Dotcom cannot be accused of knowingly storing copyrighted materials because he technically will not know the content of the files stored on MEGA.
MEGA describes its User Controlled Encryption (UCE) as ‘symmetrical encryption’. Unlike other sites like Dropbox, the user in MEGA holds both the encryption and decryption keys. The standard cloud storage providers usually hold the decryption key themselves.
This is what allows other file storage services to decrypt files and give data to government authorities. This will not be possible with MEGA, as it does not retain the decryption keys.
This can still be undone by its users, who have the power to share their files and the encryption keys. Even though the terms of service prohibits uploading and distributing copyrighted material, users are known to routinely ignore them. If users do post links and the encryption keys to public sites that index pirated material, MEGA could face clear external evidence of what is on its servers, even if it cannot see the files itself.
The service offers 50GB of storage for free and three Pro tiers of 500GB to 4TB for $13-$40 a month.
Watch Dotcom speak about his new site MEGA, Hollywood, Internet & Copyright Enforcement in the interview below.
In an interview with the Guardian, Dotcom states “we want to show the world that we are innovators. We want to show the world that cloud storage has a right to exist. And, of course, when you launch something like this, you can expect some controversy. The content industry is going to react really emotionally about this. The US government will probably try and destroy the new business … you’ve got to stand up against that, and fight that, and I’m doing that … I will not allow them to chill me.”
Below you can watch the full MEGA Launch Press Conference.
In the conference he states: "They can't blame me for the actions of third parties. Megaupload was a dual-use technology. You can use it for good things, and you can use it for bad things. If someone sends something illegal in an envelope through your postal service, you don't shut down the post office. If someone speeds with the car he just bought, you don't go to the car manufacturer and say, hey, we're shutting you down."
Do you believe the shutdown of his previous site Megaupload was fair? Let us know in the comment section below.