Cubbit has launched the cloud-enabled Cubbit cell on Kickstarter, which is a hardware-based cloud system using which you can store data securely. The Cubbit cell is equipped with an optimized single board computer coupled with a hard disk. You will receive 512GB of storage space on the Cubbit Cloud after establishing connectivity with the network. The Cubbit cell is currently available for purchase on Kickstarter for a limited time discounted price.
Cubbit is free for the lifetime except for the cost of the Cubbit cell. You can expand the storage up to 4TB by plugging USB based hard drive. The company claims that data stored on the Cubbit is encrypted and hence access to the data is nearly impossible. Moreover, the service is 10x greener when compared with conventional cloud-based data centers. With Cubbit, you will be able to get smooth and blazing fast remote access irrespective of the connectivity.
We had a chance to interact with Stefano Onofri, CEO and founder of Cubbit to know more about the features and functionality of the product.
What prompted you to develop Cubbit?
Stefano Onofri: Our startup was born with an ambitious idea: creating a new cloud built on privacy and users freedom. Freedom from data rent seekers and from limited data plans. When it comes to storing our files, we are asked to choose between our privacy and cloud comfort. But why should we do it? Reading the terms and conditions of use of the major cloud providers it turns out that users authorize companies like Google or Microsoft not only to access but to use and publish their content. Cubbit is born from the desire to give back to users the control of their digital life.
Why I need Cubbit when there are portable external hard disk available for data backup?
Stefano Onofri: Cubbit is a full-fledged cloud solution. With Cubbit you don’t need to have your hard drive with you all the time to be able to access your data. You get smooth and blazing-fast remote access from anywhere in the world. It keeps your devices synchronized and lets you share files and folders with family and friends.
Can you explain more about the concept of the distributed cloud?
Stefano Onofri: I’ll answer both these questions in one. Cubbit is a new cloud storage service, with the same user experience of Dropbox but running on a distributed data center made of Cubbit Cells. Our technology is based on a hybrid distributed architecture. The heavy load, namely storing and transferring files, is carried out by a peer-to-peer network of Cubbit Cells, single-board devices that together forms what we call “the Swarm”. Meanwhile, a coordinator server handles authorizations, metadata, and applies optimization algorithms and machine learning to optimize the network.. Thanks to the distribution of workload, this hybrid architecture has ~1/1000 the maintenance costs of traditional data centers. This way, Cubbit enables the first collaborative cloud storage that is at the same time hack-proof, sustainable, and free from monthly fees.
Can I recover data if the Cubbit cells fails to work?
Stefano Onofri: The Cubbit network is fault-tolerant, meaning that whatever happens to the Cubbit Cell your files remain safe within the Cubbit network since they are not stored on your Cell but distributed in the form of dozens of encrypted chunks across a large network of other people’s Cubbit Cells.
How do we know the files are stored in encrypted format?
Stefano Onofri: Our cybersecurity is what got us admitted into Techstars program. As regards the end-to-end encryption of Cubbit, we’re considering to open-source the code but as you can imagine it is a strategical decision that demands an in-depth analysis of every implication.
Do you have robust data center with uninterrupted servers where the data is stored?
Stefano Onofri: We don’t need it, our technology is based on peer-to-peer network. Cubbit’s software is already up and running in beta in more than 10 countries around the world. Hundreds of beta testers already use our web application daily to store and share their files in perfect safety.
Do you think Cubbit is superior to Dropbox and Mega?
Stefano Onofri: Our distributed data center dwarfs traditional cloud platforms when it comes to costs, security, and energy-efficiency. Cubbit is better than traditional cloud storage services because of three factors:
Price: traditional cloud storage services offer a freemium data plan, ie. a few GB of cloud space are free and the user has to pay to get more. On Cubbit the user gets more GBs in proportion to the physical storage he provides.
Security: traditional cloud platforms don’t provide zero-knowledge security, while Cubbit does. Because of this, traditional cloud platforms are susceptible to data breaches and leaks, while Cubbit is not.
Sustainability: Cubbit is built with the idea of self-sustainability in mind. Thanks to its distributed architecture, Cubbit saves a lot of energy compared to traditional cloud platforms, which are burdened by maintenance cost (the data center needs to be cooled down to work properly) and long data transfers, that in certain cases can be as much energy-consuming as data storage itself.
Why I need a separate hardware for storing data on the cloud?
Stefano Onofri: The cloud is nothing more than someone else’s computer, until today the user was forced to rent a space in a data center. Unlike any other solution Cubbit grants the privacy of personal storage and the comfort of the cloud, all wrapped into a smooth user experience.
Please share about the future plans of your company?
Stefano Onofri: The Cubbit of today is just the beginning, we have many major steps in our roadmap, such as distributed Web Hosting or distributed Virtual Private Network, etc.
