Interview With Tunio Zafer – pCloud 

pCloud helps you store, share and access all your files using one simple and highly secure platform, anytime and anywhere you go. Tunio Zafer, the CEO of pCloud, shared some information about company’s beginnings, services they offer, and what are the most intriguing trends and technologies at modern times. 

Private Internet Access: Please present pCloud to our audience. 

Tunio Zafer: pCloud was created in 2013 by Tunio Zafer and Anton Titov, currently CEO and CTO of the company. The company is registered in Switzerland, operating under Swiss law and today is one of the biggest European cloud storage providers, with almost 15 million registered users.  

PIA: Please describe the story behind the company: What sparked the idea, and how has it evolved so far? 

TZ: The initial idea was to provide the most secure cloud storage, as this did still not exist back in 2013. 

What we achieved is to combine all security measures with enough storage. We got the standards for each cloud storage to provide – an ISO27001 certification, a GDPR conformity even before the existence of the GDPR norms, a 256-bits AES encryption of the data servers, and two-factor authentication for a controlled access.  

We had developed something more, that very few other providers offer – the client-side encryption. That means your data is being encrypted before leaving your device and after a secure SSL transfer, it is being kept in a secure vault on our servers. No one in the world can get to this data and we proved that with our hacking challenge back in 2016. We had offered 100 000 USD for 6 months to the one that can tell what is in the vault of one account. No one succeeded.  

PIA: What services do you offer? 

TZ: We had developed various products for the secure cloud storage of client data. For individuals, we offer a free Basic storage account up to 10 GB, 500 GB Premium storage and Premium Plus storage up to 4 TB. That comes with several sharing options, data restore and file versioning up to 365 days.  

For the families of up to five members, we decided to provide up to 4 TB storage with all the Premium features that we give to the individuals.  

All those storage plans can come with a monthly or yearly subscription, but we decided to not stop there – we introduced the Lifetime payment, the option to pay at once for your cloud storage and to keep it for 99 years.  

We did not forget the companies, which now and more than ever need to virtualize their office and to make their data accessible from everywhere. Our pCloud Business plan allows small teams and companies to get one terabyte per user with improved features for their collaboration.  

PIA: Who are your typical customers, and what do you think is the main challenge that your product solves for them?  

TZ: We have a very large spectrum of users. Starting with the students and the universities, that need a common space for their study documents and ending with average and big companies needing to virtualize their data and make the cloud part of their virtual office.  

We have the young professionals, the new tribe of freelancers and Digital nomads.  

We have as well families and friends that are being kept separated by distance and new restrictions, but still need to share their photos and videos with each other.  

What is their common challenge – to find a secure and economical cloud storage solution that allows them to use and share their data from everywhere and on every device. 

PIA: What separates you from other similar websites/companies? 

TZ: We combine a simple-to-use service at a Lifetime price with the best possible security, on European servers, under Swiss law protection. We believe it to be the most secure cloud storage worldwide that you can pay off with a single payment and never worry about your data again. 

PIA: Would you say there is enough awareness of cybersecurity among the industry and the people you work with? 

TZ: The world is getting there. As for the last one and a half years we had to redefine the way we work and the way we share information, everyone is now more aware of the need to secure their data. Some years ago, people were thinking that Ransomware attacks would never happen to them, but today we notice a trend to get more security and privacy for the important data.  

PIA: Which trends and technologies do you find to be particularly intriguing these days? 

TZ: Data security and privacy are the most requested features in the last couple of years. We do already provide data security with the client-side encryption and all previously mentioned features. VPN technologies are taking a big part in the privacy of our life and can be combined with the cloud storage for a better privacy protection.  

Our next challenge is the latest trend in data privacy – password protection. We think that the most secure way to keep your passwords is to combine them with your digital vault and keep them encrypted. This is going to be our next Premium Feature, soon to be proposed to all our users.