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from the This-phone-will-self-destruct-in-five-seconds dept.
Papas Fritas writes:
"Reuters reports that Boeing has unveiled a smartphone that deletes all data and renders the device inoperable if there is any attempt to open its casing. 'The Boeing Black phone is manufactured as a sealed device both with epoxy around the casing and with screws, the heads of which are covered with tamper proof covering to identify attempted disassembly,' says a letter included in the FCC filing. 'Any attempt to break open the casing of the device would trigger functions that would delete the data and software contained within the device and make the device inoperable.' Boeing's Black phone will be sold primarily to government agencies and companies engaged in contractual activities with those agencies that are related to defense and homeland security. The device will be marketed and sold in a manner such that low level technical and operational information about the product will not be provided to the general public. 'We saw a need for our customers in a certain market space.' says Boeing spokeswoman Rebecca Yeamans."
(Score: 5, Insightful) by frojack on Thursday February 27 2014, @08:51PM
It doesn't attempt to be non-breakable. It just attempts to flush all content if you try to break into it.
Voice is encrypted too, which was mentioned in the press a few days ago, but now seems scrubbed from the story.
Discussion should abhor vacuity, as space does a vacuum.
(Score: 1) by weilawei on Friday February 28 2014, @01:34AM
I think that defeating the tamper-evident part of the product itself constitutes a challenge. It's the modern equivalent of being able to successfully open someone's mail by steaming the envelope and then resealing it without detection.
(Score: 1) by tibman on Friday February 28 2014, @02:27AM
Seems like getting at the data via non-destructive means would be the best. I wouldn't think disassembling a phone would get you much? I can't imagine someone would desolder a flash chip and put it into a custom assembly. Even if they did that the data could be encrypted.
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(Score: 2, Informative) by BradleyAndersen on Friday February 28 2014, @10:44AM
IIRC, voice and data are encrypted, but only on their network. So if you and your friend each pay $629 for this thing, then it is encrypted.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday February 28 2014, @02:44PM
Right, both ends have to use this phone for voice encryption.
I suspect the data encryption would be exactly like any other phone, using HTTPS, and SSL, etc.
The only data that would be encrypted by this phone's special functions would be data transmissions direct from one of these phones to another of these phones, OR from one of these phones to a VPN, but that is sort of undefined by any of the writeups I can find.
Discussion should abhor vacuity, as space does a vacuum.
(Score: 1) by Geotti on Friday February 28 2014, @05:28PM
Watch me playing angry birds until the battery dies then drilling through the power source of the tamper protection, the location of which I obtained by putting it in a TSA x-ray scanner and then taking a picture of the monitor with my iPhone at the right moment.
What a load of BS... Oh wait a moment it's Boeing we're talking about. Nothing to see here, carry on!
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday February 28 2014, @05:37PM
So then what?
You have to power it up again to get at any of the data (unless its on a microsd card).
As soon as the CPU comes back on line, it detects the opening and kills the phone.
(Think you found all those tiny switches? I'm betting not, besides, its bound to be
password protected).
Or you have to unsolder the memory chips, and somehow read them on another
device. Good luck with that.
So skip the Angry Birds, Just put a bullet through the processor, then harvest
the memory chips. Yeah, that will work.
Discussion should abhor vacuity, as space does a vacuum.
(Score: 1) by Geotti on Friday February 28 2014, @06:13PM
Well, to be fair, unsoldering those memory chips is rather easy with the right tools (i.e. some tin-foil and a heat gun), but I like your variant; it has a certain Clint Eastwood flair to it.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday February 28 2014, @08:57PM
And, if you buy this phone, chances are you also have a supply of tin foil close by. ;-)
Discussion should abhor vacuity, as space does a vacuum.