Oh, I should let you know, the upgrading had nothing to do with me. That was the reason they were hounding me in the first placeš
I wish I had not read this interview which helps us further understand the new project of the HIROH phone with e/OS/.
So basically Mr. Cocchia was an American solider then became an American mercenary of some sort or private military contractor as they are called these days. Of course I could be incorrect about that from my reading between the following lines. āI was a young guy in the military . . . From there, my career shifted toward international affairs, where Iāve had the privilege of working with Presidents, Ambassadors, the intelligence community.ā
Further internet searches of Mr. Cocchia shows he was the executive director and founder of Liberty & Freedom Foundation around 2010 to 2012 or so. It looks to me that was one of those off the books campaign funding schemes for a presidential nominee candidate. In this case for Sarah Palin.
Mr. Cocchia in 2013 co-founded Vysk and served as CEO. The Vysk website is a bit odd to my eye. There is no business address or company number on the website, that I could find. The CTO is named as Jane Doe (the name given to unidentified female corpses in the USA) and her picture on the site is like an Instagram model picture, looking back over her shoulder in a sultry manner. She could very well be legitimate but it doesnāt look right to me.
On the Vysk privacy policy you can contact them at an email address for a Washington DC restaurant, āmarvindcrestaurant@gmail.com.ā Was the privacy policy just a cut and paste from somewhere else?
There is an article published on 12th August 2016 by āexpressnews comā it reports that a lawsuit filed by an investor in Fysk on 28th July 2016 in the U.S. District Court in San Antonio, Texas. Within the lawsuit it states that āRather than a juggernaut poised for success, Vysk is a sinking ship with a rogue chief executive officer at its helm who has burned through nearly $15 million in innocent investor funds by making poor and reckless business decision.ā
To be honest I am emotional invested in Murena and its success. I have been using the operating systems for a number of years but this worries me. Mr. Cocchia answers in the interview concern me. His interview is a full on word salad with pure marketing speak but low on details, low on hard facts we can look up. Like this quote āThatās why, 13 years ago, I started a company that built one of the first truly secure communication tools.ā Whatās the tool so we can look it up? Was it successful? Did it work? No product mentioned but how much of the interview was spent on telling us the origin of the name HIROH, pure fluff.
I wanted to buy this phone but I was unsure about spending a thousand euros with an unknown phone manufacturer. I was left most unsatisfied after reading the clarifiying interview with Mr. Cocchia. I have my concerns, rightly or wrongly I felt obligated to share the information I found. Of course I suggest you do your own research and draw your own conclusions. I trust Murena to make sure this premium priced phone will get delivered in Quarter 1 2026. However, I will not be placing my money in the hands of any enterprise fronted by Mr. Cocchia.
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yup you summarizes it pretty well. thank you for that! had almost similar observations:
apart from the vague interview answers, the looking up the previous work didnāt yield anything prominent either.
- the contact email just vyskteam@gmail.com, pretty odd to use gmail. (the other email is straight up of a restaurant so thereās that.)
- strange to use a dummy picture for a CTO (could be place holder), but a name that generic and no link to credentials donāt help with anything.
- the websiteās html code has many google trackers in it. (not the red-est flag but still)
again, not saying that it is not trustable, just that the info provided, leaves some questions unanswered.
Iād trust murena with all my devices, but wonāt buy the new one based on the current info so far.
Yeah, odd you canāt find anything about Avarana Technologies, LLC. 1309 Coffeen Avenue Suite 1200, Sheridan, WY 82801. Itās all a little strange.
Yeah. I definitely understand your concerns, but Iām not as worried about his background since I already live in the US and honestly a phone created by someone who potentially has ties to the government is still a better deal than a phone made by Google, because at least that means only my own government can spy on me, rather than a multinational corporation thatās deeply involved in the advertising industry.
Plus, it does mean that at least the person in question is likely familiar with US carriers and likely will be under all sorts of obligations related to the FCC and such if they sell the phone to someone living here. I may even have the option of taking them to a local court if it turns out they lied or misrepresented the product, weāll just have to see. Iām desperate enough for something that isnāt either a Pixel or a non-US phone for the international market to take a chance on something that may well look a bit shady.
Anyway, my research turned up that the product in question was actually a product called the Vysk QS1 phone case, which had a built-in microprocessor separate from the phone itself used as some kind of secure enclave and physically blocked microphones and shuttered cameras. Itās not a very well-known product because it was primarily marketed to enterprises and governments rather than ordinary people, if I understood correctly. Which may not be a bad thing, simply because stuff designed for government and enterprise tends to respect privacy a bit more than stuff sold to normal consumers. Thatās just my take on it, though.
Plus, since the payment portal is through Murena itself, that means they are kind of potentially putting their own name/brand on the line in case it isnāt delivered, so that also kind of helps a little. I donāt know if HIROH will exist in a few years or not, but as long as the phones are made and delivered to those who preordered, Iām hoping Iāll still get /e/OS updates through Murena and/or the community even if this new company doesnāt last 5 years to provide any kind of support.
Yeah, just look at all the people disappointed with Murena 1 and Murena 2 on the forum. Just like the Cloud problem, which has been going on for a year now and still hasnāt been fully resolved. So, in my opinion, that doesnāt mean anything.
Thatā¦ is actually more worrying than any issues with HIROH or the people behind it, honestly. Birds of a feather flock together, is all I am going to say.
Since this will be my first /e/OS phone, that now means Iām going to count this as the one shot for both companies. If this doesnāt go well, Iāll just wash my hands of /e/OS as well as HIROH and count this as a very expensive lesson.
Sighā¦ I just hate whatās popular and practical so much that I always feel forced into desperately investing in long-shots that claim to offer something too good to be true. Story of my life, oh well.
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