The Founders
Experts in Data and Cryptocurrency Security
John Gerlock
@Layz3r
John Gerlock started his first technology business in 2005 when he founded and operated a small internet service provider distributing internet access to underserved areas of Detroit. He entered the information security field in 2007 when he designed and built Pikkey, a computer vision system which uses images of door keys to backup and produce copies on demand.
John left his job as lead engineer for a cause-driven research indexing and mapping company in 2013 to focus on cryptocurrency systems, where he has provided consulting services to many major bitcoin exchanges and venture capital firms. At keytern.al, John designs fault-tolerant, distributed infrastructure and drinks coffee from his desk in Detroit.
Jeffrey Paul
@sneakdotberlin
Jeffrey Paul has been working professionally in data security for over 18 years. The founder of EEQJ (a specialty data security consulting firm) in 2008, he came to cryptocurrencies and bitcoin in 2009 after several years of research in peer-to-peer and distributed systems. An expert in modern information security practices, Jeffrey has worked extensively in widely varied engineering and technical leadership roles safeguarding extremely high-value information for companies specializing in payment card processing, secure communications, and financial services.
Presently residing in Berlin (a city he maintains is currently the best on the planet), Jeffrey is responsible for designing the handling processes providing the safety and long-term reliability of the key material and storage systems.
The Keys
Engineered For Safety and Reliability
Longevity
keytern.al stores five redundant, strongly encrypted copies of the customer keys in a minimum of three different physical facilities, on two continents.
Additionally, the long-term responsibility of the founders to customers trusting keytern.al with their backup key is not unconsidered or taken lightly. We pledge to maintain this site's domain name and associated support and recovery email addresses for a minimum of 10 years in any case and will continue to process recoveries for as long as either of us is able, even should the business itself become defunct. (In that case, customers would be notified repeatedly with plenty of advance notice given for an orderly transition.)
We're not going anywhere, but we still want all of our customers to understand that we've thought this through and won't ever leave you stranded. Neither of us could put our names on such a service without planning on our customers' behalf for all of these potential scenarios.
Security
All customer keys are stored encrypted with a state-of-the-art, industry standard strong cryptosystem (OpenPGP).
All secret key material, at all times, is held offline ("cold") and is never, ever stored or processed on any systems that are connected to any type of network. The secret keys never leave our secure custody, even when used to perform recovery of customer funds.