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Boeing defense technology Smartphones
By Amisha Sharma on March 7th, 2014
Feeling exposed? So is the US government.
That could explain why for the past three years, Boeing has been developing the Boeing Black and its no
fighter jet, if thats what you were thinking. Its a smartphone that effectively self-destructs when someone
tries to tamper with it, Mission Impossible-style.
Boeing developed the phone, the Boeing Black, specifically for the US governments aerospace and defense
needs. Given that Boeing is the US governments second largest arms and military contractor, it was an
obvious choice for a partner in developing a spy phone capable of encrypting calls and data. Boeing
explains that the invention came about once the company saw a need for our customers in a certain
market spacethat market space being protecting national security and better equipping our defense
agency with modern technology that cant be intercepted by terrorists or hackers.
The phones most novel and practical innovation is self-destruct mode. When activated, the mode causes
any attempt to force or break the Black phone open to access its internal memory triggers the phone to
become completely inoperable and wiped of all data. This expressly fills the need for government agencies
and contractors to be able communicate freely over multiple lines and across international borders without
falling victim to security breaches, eavesdroppers and/or data thieves.
Boeing Blacks other features are pretty handy and spy-friendly, too. I ts a little bit bigger and heavier than
an iPhone, but is equipped with Android software and mobility. A dual-SIM card feature allows the phone
user can switch between two networks, e.g. a government and commercial network and perhaps eliminating
the need for officials to have to keep track of two separate phones for their work and personal needs. The
phone can also communicate over radio channels and satellites, which could certainly come in handy if a
government official or contractor were trying to communicate from a remote location.
In a time of increased data vulnerability, not to mention the recent NSA scandal regarding its thousands of
privacy violations, this sort of innovation is something the US public would surely pounce on as an addition
to their gadget collection. Now that the typical smartphone functions as everything from a personal assistant
to communications hub to social media platform to digital wallet, losing ones phone is one of every users
worst fears. I f we could ensure that the phone would be consistently backed up via a discrete connection
and could be wipe itself when tampered with, even when the phone ran out of battery (a way for phone
thieves to circumvent remote wiping requests)problem solved.
But Boeing stated recently that its sleek fighter jet of versatile touchscreen walkie-talkies will only be
available to its government customers, not the general public. This begs the question, why not make such a
product for the everyday smartphone user who wants to ensure the safety of their personal information?
Boeing has yet to release information about pricing and wireless signal providers as well. Worry not, for
other companies are responding with similarly secure devices, such as the Blackphone, which retails at $629.
So if you want a phone thats more impenetrable than your highly-hackable Android or over-sharing iPhone,
there are certainly affordable options out there that dont send your information and activity to practically
the entire internet every five minutes without asking.
With the advent of this much-needed technology to help our government and military, whats next? Well,
the US military is already conducting tests of mobile consumer devices for defense uses and developing
apps for wireless military operations. Security firms have criticized this effort, saying that these efforts would
make the military more vulnerable to attacks from hackers who have already been hacking those devices for
years. With that logic, it may be a wise decision for Boeing to keep its government-geared tech advances
out of the average J oes hands in the interest of safeguarding our national security.
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