SecureSmartphone

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  • NSA builds own model of Android phone, wants you to do the same

    by 
    Daniel Cooper
    Daniel Cooper
    03.01.2012

    The NSA decided it wanted to have its own go at producing a secure Android smartphone that could encrypt communications to levels necessary for national security. Project "Fishbowl" constructed 100 handsets from off-the-shelf components that were secure enough that staffers could use them without speaking in code. All conversations are conducted across an IPsec VPN with a secure, real-time transport protocol for encrypting the voice at both ends, with the VoIP server being housed inside an NSA facility. It's part of a program to get handset makers to build this kit so the Information Assurance Directorate doesn't have to navigate the interoperability hurdles between each company's tech. The agency has launched a how-to for any manufacturer looking for a large Government contract to produce Fishbowl phones on a larger scale, although they'll probably have to change the name to something more threatening like MK-Ultraphone or the Phoneadelphia Experiment.