{{Short description|Israeli messaging software company}} {{redirect|telemessage|tele-message, messaging at a distance|telecommunications}} {{Use British English|date=October 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox company | name = TeleMessage| type = Private | foundation = {{start date and age|1999}} | founder = {{ubl|Guy Levit|Gil Shapira}} | key_people = {{ubl|Guy Levit|{{smaller|(CEO)}}|Horacio Furman|{{smaller|(Chairman)}}}} | industry = Software| revenue = $6.1 million (2016) USD| num_employees = 55| location = Israel | products = Messaging | owner = {{ubl|Independent {{smaller|(1999–2005)}}|Messaging International plc {{smaller|(2005–24)}}|Smarsh {{smaller|(2024–present)}}}} | website = {{official URL}} |}} '''TeleMessage''' is an Israeli software company based in Petah Tikva, Israel. Founded in 1999 by Guy Levit and Gil Shapira, it provides enterprise messaging, mobile communications archiving and high-volume text messaging services.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Castañon |first1=Raul |date=25 February 2020 |title=CafeX Communications, Proofpoint, TeleMessage, Staffbase: News Roundup for February |url=https://medium.com/@rcastanon/cafex-communications-proofpoint-telemessage-staffbase-news-roundup-for-february-9b48a5d7997e |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250814131047/https://medium.com/@rcastanon/cafex-communications-proofpoint-telemessage-staffbase-news-roundup-for-february-9b48a5d7997e |archive-date=14 Aug 2025 |accessdate=2020-09-19 |website=Medium}}</ref>
TeleMessage suspended their worldwide services in May 2025 due to a significant cybersecurity incident. Hackers claimed to have breached the company's internal systems, which led to Telemessage halting all services to investigate and contain the incident.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Breuninger |first=Kevin |date=2025-05-05 |title=Messaging app used by Trump official suspends operations after reported hack |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/05/signal-telemessage-hack-trump-waltz.html |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>
== History == TeleMessage was founded in 1999 in Tel Aviv, Israel raising more than 10 million dollars in its first 2 series of investment rounds.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=צוקר |first1=דפנה |date=25 June 2000 |title=Globes Article |url=http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=250346 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130108084104/http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=250346 |archive-date=8 Jan 2013 |newspaper=Globes}}</ref> After being acquired by Messaging International plc in August 2005, it then went public and was traded on the London Stock Exchange AIM section under the ''Messaging International'' name.<ref name=Gerber1982 >{{Cite journal | title = Messaging International PLC acquires Telemessage | url = http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?type=news&code=cotn%3AMES.L&it=&articleid=5420409&format=raw&action=article | journal = Interactive Investor - August 2005 | archive-date = 17 July 2011 | access-date = 4 November 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717191359/http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?type=news&code=cotn:MES.L&it=&articleid=5420409&format=raw&action=article | url-status = dead }}</ref>
It received conditional funding of up to US$900,000 for a joint research and development project for "Secure Rich Communication Services Messaging" in 2015. The funding was provided by the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/AN_1406029321978883900/messaging-international-gets-up-to-usd900000-in-funding.aspx|title=Messaging International Gets Up To USD900,000 In Funding|work=MorningstarUK|access-date=2014-07-22|language=en}}</ref>
In 2004, Canadian mobile network operator Rogers Wireless selected TeleMessage SMS to Landline solution, powered by ScanSoft RealSpeak, for its TXT 2 Landline service.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 January 2005 |title=Rogers Wireless Selects ScanSoft and TeleMessage to Power TXT 2 Landline Service |url=https://www.speechtechmag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=30572 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123184019/https://www.speechtechmag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=30572 |archive-date=23 Jan 2025 |accessdate=2020-09-28 |website=Speech Technology Magazine}}</ref> American wireless network operator Verizon Wireless started using TeleMessage's SMS service to convert typed text messages into audio messages that play to a recipient's landline phone, launching this service in June 2006.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nobel |first=Carmen |date=1 June 2006 |title=Verizon Wireless to Give SMS a Voice 628150 |url=https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/verizon-wireless-to-give-sms-a-voice-628150 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250814132628/https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/verizon-wireless-to-give-sms-a-voice-628150 |archive-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=Light Reading}}</ref> Rogers Communications and the American telco Sprint Nextel were amongst others to launch the mail plugin.<ref>{{cite web |date=14 August 2008 |title=Text Messaging Comes to Landlines |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/149799/texting.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150125081633/http://www.pcworld.com:80/article/149799/texting.html |archive-date=25 Jan 2015 |accessdate=2020-10-01 |website=PCWorld}}</ref> In 2013, five years after Comverse launched the TeleMessage PC2Mobile with a Tier-1 European operator, Sprint started selling the TeleMessage offering to allow doctors and clinicians to send HIPAA-compliant texts.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-10-02|title=Sprint Launches Secure Messaging Platforms for Health Care|url=https://www.eweek.com/mobile/sprint-launches-secure-messaging-platforms-for-health-care|website=eWEEK|date=28 June 2013}}</ref> Delisted from the British stock exchange and privatized in 2017, it joined the G-Cloud public procurement framework and a financial compliance partner program managed by Verint Systems in the following years.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Gyorgy|last1=Gyarmati|accessdate=2020-09-23|title=TeleMessage Joins Verint's Financial Compliance Partner Program |url=https://www.verba.com/telemessage-joins-verint-compliance-partner-program/|date=15 June 2020}}</ref>
In 2019, it along with Boku Identity and Deep Labs joined NICE Actimize's X-Sight Marketplace.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-10-01|title=Boku Identity, Deep Labs, and TeleMessage Join NICE Actimize's X-Sight Marketplace, the Industry's First Financial Crime Management Ecosystem|url=https://www.niceactimize.com/press-releases/Boku-Identity-Deep-Labs-and-TeleMessage-Join-NICE-Actimizes-XSight-Marketplace-the-Industrys-First-Financial-Crime-Management-Ecosystem-304|website=NICE Systems}}</ref> In February 2020, Proofpoint, a Sunnyvale based enterprise security company partnered with TeleMessage to use their Mobile Archiver service for capturing text, voice and WhatsApp messages.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Raul|last1=Castañon|accessdate=2020-10-01|title=CafeX Communications, Proofpoint, TeleMessage, Staffbase: News Roundup for February|url=https://medium.com/@rcastanon/cafex-communications-proofpoint-telemessage-staffbase-news-roundup-for-february-9b48a5d7997e|date=25 February 2020|website=Medium}}</ref> The company is also working with Microsoft in protecting and governing data that is arriving from other Microsoft 365 services.<ref>{{cite web |title=Microsoft 365 gets next generation Compliance Manager and more |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-365-gets-next-generation-compliance-manager-and-more |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250814135527/https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-365-gets-next-generation-compliance-manager-and-more/ |archive-date=14 Aug 2025 |accessdate=2020-10-01 |website=Neowin}}</ref>
On February 20, 2024, the firm was acquired by Smarsh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smarsh.com/press-release/smarsh-completes-acquisition-of-telemessage-extends-communications-compliance-leadership|title=Smarsh Completes Acquisition of TeleMessage, Extends Communications Compliance Leadership|work=Smarsh|access-date=2024-02-29|language=en}}</ref> Telemessage's main industry competitor is Symphony Communication.
In May 2025, TeleMessage gained media attention after it was revealed that Mike Waltz, former U.S. National Security Advisor, was using a modified version of open source software Signal called "TM SGNL", created by TeleMessage to archive messages securely. Use predates the 2024 government; a federal contract starting in February 2023 has been found for 'TeleMessage mobile electronic message archiving'.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Kevin Collier |author2=Ben Goggin |title=Photo appears to show Mike Waltz using Signal-like app that can archive messages |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/photo-appears-shows-mike-waltz-using-signal-app-can-archive-messages-rcna204434 |work=NBC News |date=2 May 2025 |language=en |quote=One current contract that mentions TeleMessage allocated $2.1 million from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA for 'TELEMESSAGE MOBILE ELECTRONIC MESSAGE ARCHIVING,' beginning in February 2023, with an August 2025 end date.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Joseph|last1=Cox|date=1 May 2025|title=Mike Waltz Accidentally Reveals Obscure App the Government Is Using to Archive Signal Messages|url=https://www.404media.co/mike-waltz-accidentally-reveals-obscure-app-the-government-is-using-to-archive-signal-messages/|website=404 Media|access-date=1 May 2025}}</ref> It was later reported that TeleMessage had been hacked, and that chat logs archived by TeleMessage's modified Signal application are not end-to-end encrypted, either in transit to their archival storage location or once at rest.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Joseph |last2=Lee · |first2=Micah |date=2025-05-04 |title=The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked |url=https://www.404media.co/the-signal-clone-the-trump-admin-uses-was-hacked/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250517200552/https://www.404media.co/the-signal-clone-the-trump-admin-uses-was-hacked/ |archive-date=17 May 2025 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=404 Media |language=en}}</ref>
== Products == * Mobile Archiver - addresses mobile phone text and call archiving for compliance, regulatory and eDiscovery response requirements. It reduces risk across a variety of industries, capturing mobile content from BYOD and corporate phones; Enabling the captures and archive of: SMS, MMS, Voice calls, as well as WhatsApp and WeChat chats and calls.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-23|title=Overview: TeleMessage's Mobile Archiving Solution|url=https://www.infotech.com/software-reviews/research/overview-telemessage-s-mobile-archiving-solution?format=false|date=15 April 2020|website=www.infotech.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://picante.today/technology/2019/11/04/105536/boku-identity-deep-labs-and-telemessage-join-nice-actimizes-x-sight-marketplace-the-industrys-first-financial-crime-management-ecosystem/|title=Boku Identity, Deep Labs, and TeleMessage Join NICE Actimize's X-Sight Marketplace, the Industry's First Financial Crime Management Ecosystem|work=Picante Today|date=4 November 2019 |access-date=2020-09-23|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Raul|last1=Castañon|accessdate=2020-09-23|title=CafeX Communications, Proofpoint, TeleMessage, Staffbase: News Roundup for February|url=https://medium.com/@rcastanon/cafex-communications-proofpoint-telemessage-staffbase-news-roundup-for-february-9b48a5d7997e|date=25 February 2020|website=Medium}}</ref> * Secure Enterprise Messaging - enables secure enterprise chat for co-workers by using user-friendly mobile apps and a range of APIs that connect to any operational IT system. * Mass Messaging - provides tools to deliver multi and omnichannel bulk messaging across: SMS, MMS, Voice calls, Faxes, Email, and Mobile Apps.
==Patents== * Mobile station (MS) message selection identification system<ref>{{citation|title=United States Patent: 7103348 - Mobile station (MS) message selection identification system|url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%252Fnetahtml%252FPTO%252Fsearch-bool.html&r=3&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=telemessage&OS=telemessage&RS=telemessage}}</ref> * Controller for use with communications systems for converting a voice message to a text message<ref>{{citation|title=United States Patent: 7103348 - Mobile station (MS) message selection identification system|url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%252Fnetahtml%252FPTO%252Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=7,103,348.PN.&OS=PN/7,103,348&RS=PN/7,103,348}}</ref>
==Awards==
* 2020, Best Regtech Solution by Finovate Awards.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Tyler|last1=Ferst|accessdate=2020-09-23|title=Finalists Announced for the Finovate Awards!|url=https://finovate.com/finalists-announced-for-the-finovate-awards/|date=17 August 2020|website=Finovate}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal| Telecommunications}} * Comparison of instant messaging clients * Internet privacy * Secure instant messaging {{Clear}}
==References== <references/>
==External links== * {{Official}}
Category:Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Category:Software companies of Israel Category:Telecommunications companies of Israel Category:Companies based in Petah Tikva Category:2024 mergers and acquisitions