Proton, known for ProtonMail’s encrypted email services and its commitment to privacy, is in the middle of a major controversy. The Swiss company, which has always defended security as one of its core values, is relying more and more on artificial intelligence to speed up the development of its products. The worst part is that, according to reporting from 404 Media, the new strategy is causing quite a lot of concern.
Speed above security
The whole controversy revolves around Andy Yen, Proton’s CEO, who reportedly responded harshly to an employee who proposed spending a few days checking the security of the code before shipping it. Yen said that was “thinking like losers” and called for using more AI.
According to 404’s investigation, which spoke with nine Proton workers, the company is already measuring how much code its employees generate using AI and reconsidering hiring engineers.
An especially risky approach considering the risks of AI-generated code and the challenges of cybersecurity now that AI tools seem to have free rein.
Some users are starting to cancel their subscriptions
The reactions quickly reached Reddit, where several users say they have canceled their subscription and are calling for Yen’s resignation. It’s too early to draw conclusions, but the concern about security is clear.
AI can greatly speed up software development, but it also makes mistakes. Mistakes that, with the amount of code generated, are sometimes very difficult to detect. In Proton’s case, the challenge lies in proving that the faster pace AI enables maintains the level of security the company has led users to expect.
