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The only almost-safe portable phone I can imagine is a purely VoIP
phone, and that comes with a ton of caveats and precautions. It's a
very difficult problem.

That whole corporate-locked-in-baseband thing seems to throw a
curveball at any ideas I can think of when trying to execute a secure
cellular device.

I am, however, excited to see Zimmermann involved.

Sam

On Fri 17 Jan 2014 01:25:50 AM PST, Jim Bell wrote:

http://www.yahoo.com/tech/startup-launching-a-super-secure-nsa-proof-73511096050.html


Fears over NSA spying have prompted people around the world to think
about security differently, whether it be petitioning for companies to
better secure their data or changing the information they share online.
In particular, security around smartphones has been of great concern, as people increasingly surf the Web, make calls and send messages from
their mobile devices.
An international group of privacy enthusiasts has come together to
create Blackphone, a smartphone that claims it will help to better
protect your information.
Mashable writes that Blackphone is the brainchild of Silent Circle and Geekosphere,
with participation from big players in the fight for information privacy and computer security. Phil Zimmermann, creator of data encryption
protocol PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), is one of the minds behind the
device.
“Blackphone provides users with everything they need to ensure
privacy and control of their communications, along with all the other
high-end smartphone features they have come to expect,” Zimmerman said,
according to Mashable.
[ Right Click: Kiwi lifestyle tracker to free people from their smartphones ]
The operating system is a custom build of Android OS called PrivatOS, designed for improved security. Silent Circle’s CEO Mike Janke says the project will be open source, as will the PrivatOS operating system. The phone likely won’t have the most outstanding specs, but the team says
that’s because privacy is the top concern.
No specific details have been given about the phone yet (although
some of the code has been posted to GitHub). The companies say they’ll
be unveiling it properly at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona beginning Feb. 24.
Even with very little information about the device currently
available, some media outlets are suggesting that the phone could be
“NSA-proof.” That’s a tall order, especially in light of a story from The New York Times claiming that the NSA has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers to create backdoor radio access.
For more information on Blackphone, visit its website at https://www.blackphone.ch.

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