Ride the Lightning
Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
Are You Getting a Blackphone to Protect Your Privacy?
March 5, 2014
There was an interesting article in The Telegraph yesterday. Many of you have undoubtedly been following the development of the Blackphone.
The Blackphone, which launched at Mobile World Congress 2014, is the result of a joint venture between Silent Circle and Geeksphone. It claims to be the world's first smartphone which places privacy and control in the hands of its users.
Blackphone's operating system, PrivatOS, is built on Android and features several pre-installed privacy tools, including the Silent Circle suite of apps, anonymous search, private browsing, VPN from Disconnect; and secure cloud file storage from SpiderOak. It also comes with a remote-wipe and device recovery tool.
While there have been high expectations for the Blackphone, Stephen Bonner, a partner in KPMG’s Information Protection and Business Resilience team said, “By owning a ‘black phone’ a user could become a target as it acts as a red flag to criminals, highlighting that there’s something to hide. As the devices attract and house high value data, attackers will be inclined to break in.”
I'm not sure that would deter me from buying one, but it might be a valid point.
The Blackphone, which costs $629, is powered by a 2GHz quad-core processor and features a 4.7-inch HD screen, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, an 8-Megapixel primary camera with flash and a 1.3-Megapixel front camera. It is scheduled to ship to the first customers in June 2014 but may be ordered now at the Silent Circle website.
Caveat: The Blackphone is a GSM (Global System for Mobile) phone only so you have to have a carrier that supports GSM. T-Mobile and AT&T do support GSM.
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