Snap Hires Engineer to Step Up Defense Against Code Copycats
- Switzerland subsidiary created by Snap to make deals
- Co-founder of security startup Strong.Codes joins Snap
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When Snap Inc. filed for an initial public offering earlier this month, it said a risk for the company is Facebook Inc.’s Instagram mimicking Snapchat features. Now the startup has tapped the skills of a Swiss engineer with expertise in defending against copycats.
Snap recently hired Laurent Balmelli, an engineer who co-founded the startup Strong.Codes, a maker of tools that obscures software code and makes it harder for competitors to reverse engineer -- a term used to describe taking apart a product to learn how to rebuild it, or copy it. Balmelli registered a Snap e-mail address with the Swiss Chamber of Commerce.