SILC

SILC, short for Secure Internet Live Conferencing, is a protocol and software suite for secure online communication. It was developed in the late 1990s by the SILC project with the aim of providing confidential, authenticated, and tamper-evident messaging and conferencing across a network of clients and servers. The protocol was designed to offer end-to-end encryption, peer authentication, and the ability to create multi-user rooms for real-time discussion, emphasizing privacy and security in online chats and conferences.

The reference implementation of SILC included a client program, a library called libsilc, and server components that could be deployed to form SILC networks. It was designed to be cross-platform and extensible, with various implementations available for different operating systems. Over time, SILC faced competition from other secure messaging solutions and did not achieve broad, lasting adoption, leading to its status as a niche or archival project in many ecosystems. Nevertheless, its design influenced later secure communication concepts and contributed to the development of privacy-focused messaging ideas in the field.

In addition to the protocol, the acronym SILC is used in other contexts for unrelated organizations or initiatives. Because of these multiple uses, it is important to determine the specific domain when encountering the term SILC to avoid ambiguity.