Proton has announced the launch of Proton Pass, a secure password manager it claims has a “more complete encryption model” than its competitors. This marks the security company’s latest expansion after finding success as ProtonMail, its encrypted email service, and eventually rebranding as Proton with a Calendar, Drive and VPN.
Last year, Proton acquired SimpleLogin, an email alias company, with that new team responsible for most of Proton Pass’ development. The new password manager utilizes a 32-byte random vault key that only the specific user can access, another level of encryption at the item level, and the same sharing securities tested on their calendar and drive systems. Usernames, websites and emails can all be encrypted alongside newly created email aliases and notes — none of which the company can access. Proton bills itself as an “open source company,” meaning anyone can inspect if their systems work as described.
Proton Pass notably enters the market after the password manager, LastPass, was hacked last year, with bad actors accessing sensitive information like customer meta data and third-party integration secrets. The liability left more room for rival secure password companies — something Proton seems to be capitalizing on. Andy Yen, Proton’s founder and CEO, made a not-so-subtle reference to it in Proton Pass’ announcement: “We’ve always been worried about the risk posed by a major password manager breach, which unfortunately became a reality with the recent hack of LastPass.”
Currently, Proton Pass is only rolling out in Beta form for lifetime and visionary Proton plan members. Any eligible customers should receive an email to their Proton Mail account in the next week. Proton Pass should launch publicly “later this year.”
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