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</style><table class="infobox ib-company vcard"><caption class="infobox-title fn org" style="font-size: 125%;">Zero Knowledge Systems</caption><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Industry</th><td class="infobox-data category">Privacy Technology</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Founded</th><td class="infobox-data">1998</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Headquarters</th><td class="infobox-data label"><a href="Montreal%2C_Quebec" class="mw-redirect" title="Montreal, Quebec">Montreal, Quebec</a>, Canada</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Key people</div></th><td class="infobox-data agent">Austin Hill (CEO) and Hamnett Hill (COO)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Products</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="Anonymity_network" class="mw-redirect" title="Anonymity network">Freedom network</a><br>freedom pseudonymous mail system</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Number of employees</div></th><td class="infobox-data">300</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Website</th><td class="infobox-data"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20010202020300/http://www.zero-knowledge.com/">zero-knowledge.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

<p><b>Zero-Knowledge Systems</b> (also known as <b>ZKS</b>) was a Canadian privacy technology software and services company, best known for the Freedom Network, its privacy network. It was founded by brothers Austin Hill & Hamnett Hill and their father Hamnett Hill Sr. (aka Hammie Hill) in 1997. Its headquarters were in <a href="Montreal%2C_Quebec" class="mw-redirect" title="Montreal, Quebec">Montreal, Quebec</a>. Early investors and board members were Mike Santer and Alex Hern co-founder <a href="Inktomi" title="Inktomi">Inktomi</a>. The company rebranded under the new name Radialpoint though was no longer a developer of privacy-enhancing technologies.<sup id="cite_ref-betakit_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-betakit-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Most recently, it was acquired by AppDirect and rebranded as AppHelp.

</p><p>Zero-Knowledge Systems was one of the first large-scale commercial attempts to combine <a href="Cypherpunk" title="Cypherpunk">cypherpunk</a> principles with a for-profit technology. During its heyday, ZKS captured the media's imagination and successfully drew attention to the privacy risks of unsuspecting internet users.

</p><p>Being based in Canada allowed it to circumvent the US ban on strong cryptography, considered "munitions" at the time. ZKS was featured in <i>Wired</i> magazine as early as 1999.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>The ZKS Freedom Network was a pioneer of anonymous networking technology, predating the <a href="Tor_(anonymity_network)" class="mw-redirect" title="Tor (anonymity network)">Tor</a> network.

Some of the enterprise privacy research was also inherited by the IBM Tivoli digital rights management suite.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>Several of the company's employees were from an academic privacy-enhanced technology background: <a href="Stefan_Brands" title="Stefan Brands">Stefan Brands</a> (senior cryptographer) and cypherpunk background <a href="Ian_Goldberg" title="Ian Goldberg">Ian Goldberg</a> (chief scientist) and <a href="Adam_Back" title="Adam Back">Adam Back</a> (architect & cryptographer). Other employees included <a href="Mike_Shaver" title="Mike Shaver">Mike Shaver</a> (chief software officer), Adam Shostack, Anton Stiglic, Christian Paquin, Jonathan Wilkins and Ulf Moller.<sup id="cite_ref-press_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-press-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Stephanie Perrin served as <a href="Chief_Privacy_Officer" class="mw-redirect" title="Chief Privacy Officer">Chief Privacy Officer</a> for the firm before she became Director of Research and Policy at the <a href="Office_of_the_Privacy_Commissioner_of_Canada" class="mw-redirect" title="Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada">Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada</a>, and helped to draft <a href="PIPEDA" class="mw-redirect" title="PIPEDA">PIPEDA</a>, the Canadian privacy law.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>

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<li id="cite_note-betakit-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-betakit_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.betakit.com/a-new-kind-of-mafia-in-montreal-how-a-culture-of-startup-ceos-are-playing-the-angel-game/">A New Kind of Mafia in Montreal? How a Culture of Startup CEOs are Playing the Angel Game</a> BetaKit. September 3, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2014</span>

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</style><cite id="CITEREFOakes1999" class="citation magazine cs1">Oakes, Chris (9 February 1999). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wired.com/1999/02/zero-knowledge-nothing-personal/">"Zero-Knowledge: Nothing Personal"</a>. <i>Wired</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://xml.coverpages.org/epal.html">"Enterprise Privacy Authorization Language (EPAL)"</a>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-press-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-press_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140221152957/http://cnrp.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&actionFor=341474&searchText=false&showText=all">"Dr. Stefan Brands Joins Zero-Knowledge Systems"</a>. CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS. February 23, 2000. Retrieved February 4, 2014.</span>

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<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150721230222/http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/wks2013/view_resource_person.php?id=172">"Stephanie Perrin (Ms), CANADA"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/wks2013/view_resource_person.php?id=172">the original</a> on 2015-07-21<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2023-08-25</span></span>.</cite></span>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2></div>

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<ul><li><cite id="CITEREFAkin2002" class="citation news cs1">Akin, David (13 May 2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/zero-knowledge-learns-a-valuable-lesson/article4134930/">"Zero-Knowledge learns a valuable lesson"</a>. <i>The Globe and Mail</i>. Montreal<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">12 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFSilverman2004" class="citation pressrelease cs1">Silverman, Craig (9 June 2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040609005078/en/Zero-Knowledge-Systems-Behalf-Synomos-Files-Motion-Institute">"Zero-Knowledge Systems Inc., on Behalf of Synomos Inc., Files Motion to Institute Proceedings Against IBM"</a>. <i>Business Wire</i> (Press release). Montreal<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFClark2001" class="citation news cs1">Clark, Don (5 October 2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100223112186904840">"Zero-Knowledge to End Service That Allowed Online Anonymity"</a>. <i>Wall Street Journal</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFSilverman2005" class="citation news cs1">Silverman, Craig (4 May 2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050504005490/en/Radialpoint-New-Company-Zero-Knowledge-Systems">"Radialpoint, New Name of Company Formerly Known as Zero-Knowledge Systems"</a>. <i>Business Wire</i>. Montreal<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFLemos2000" class="citation news cs1">Lemos, Robert (23 October 2000). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/news-burst-zero-knowledge-open-sources-freedom/">"Zero-Knowledge open sources Freedom"</a>. <i>ZDNet</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">7 December</span> 2022</span>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFEmergent_Chaos2007" class="citation web cs1">Emergent Chaos (12 June 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.itproportal.com/2007/06/12/whatever-happened-to-zeroknowledge-systems/">"Whatever happened to Zero-Knowledge Systems?"</a>. <i>ITProPortal</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFEdwards2002" class="citation news cs1">Edwards, M (10 January 2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.itprotoday.com/data-privacy/zero-knowledge-systems-introduces-security-and-privacy-tool-suite">"Zero-Knowledge Systems Introduces Security and Privacy Tool Suite"</a>. <i>IT Pro</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite></li></ul>

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