Boeing’s Ultra-Secure, Self-Destructing Smartphone

Boeing unveiled its new, ultra-secure “Boeing Black ” smartphone on Wednesday, saying it plans to sell the modular device to government agencies and companies engaged in contractual activities with those agencies related to defense and homeland security.

“The U.S. defense and security communities demand trusted access to data to accomplish their missions. Despite the continuous innovation in commercial mobile technology, current devices are not designed from inception with the security and flexibility needed to match their evolving mission and enterprise environment,” Boeing said in itsannouncement .

The new phone, simply called “Black,” will run a security-enhanced variant of the Android operating system, and will include a 4.3-inch qHD (540×960) display, Dual 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processors, and support for LTE 700/1700/2100, WCDMA 850/1900/2100 and GSM 850/900/1800/1900 bands along with major storage (USB, HDMI, SIM) and wireless (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) standards.

Perhaps the most interesting of Black’s features is the ability to self-destruct if anyone attempts to disassemble the phone to learn about its secrets.

“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 said.

While disclosing the basic features of the new device, Boeing declined to elaborate on any of its specialized capabilities.

“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,” the company said in an FCC filing  about the device.

Boeing’s Black appears to be a direct challenge the BlackBerry, which has long been a favorite for government employees.  The Canadian smartphone maker still enjoys a number of government smartphone contracts, and recently announced a new deal with the Pentagon to provide 80,000 BlackBerrys to defense department employees.

In its FCC filing, Boeing said that purchasers of Black would need to sign an agreement that ”specifically designates and protects as ‘proprietary information’ the components, hardware, Product Software, applications, functionalities, or internal structure or workings” of the device, “including without limitation those that can be obtained by disassembling or opening the Product or its software or components.”

The agreement also states that there are “no serviceable parts on Boeing’s Black phone and any attempted servicing or replacing of parts would destroy the product.”

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A look at Boeing Black, the self-destructing Android phone

If you thought Snapchat’s self-destructing pictures were cool, wait till you get a load of this. US company Boeing has unveiled a new smartphone that appears to come straight from a James Bond spy movie.In addition to encrypting your communication over the phone, any attempt to open the casing of the Boeing Black smartphone deletes all data and rendering the device inoperable. The secure phone marks an extension of the communications arm of the Chicago-based aerospace and defense contractor, which is best known for jetliners and fighter planes.Made in the US, the phone runs on Google’s Android. The 5.2-by-2.7-inch (13.2-by-6.9 cm) handset, slightly larger than an iPhone, uses dual SIM cards to enable it to access multiple cell networks instead of a single network like a normal cellphone. “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. 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,” the company said.The self-destructing phone contains a rather small 1590mAh battery and is quite chunky looking from the renders Boeing has released. It sports a 4.3-inch 540×960 display of unspecified type and will play nicely with LTE, UMTS, and GSM networks. Customisation is also a major selling point for Boeing Black — the back door can be swapped out for add-on modules such as satellite radio, expanded battery packs, solar chargers, precise GPS receivers, secure discrete radio channels, biometric scanners, etc. The Black also sports a PDMI port that combines USB, audio, power, HDMI, and DisplayPort output in one connection. You will also find a a standard USB port for data and charging, along with a microSD slot. An unspecified dual-core 1.2Ghz ARM Cortex-A9 processor is ticking within. Due to the phone’s security features, Boeing is releasing few details about the wireless network operators or manufacturer it is working with, and has not provided a price or date by which the phone might be widely available, but said it has begun offering the phone to potential customers. Boeing has not mentioned any specific details about the cameras on the phone, but we can clearly see one on the backBoeing’s website says the phone can be configured to connect with biometric sensors or satellites. Other attachments can extend battery life or use solar power. The phone can operate on the WCDMA, GSM and LTE frequency bands and offers WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.Such a phone might have prevented damage to Washington’s diplomacy in Ukraine from a leaked telephone call. A senior US State Department officer and the ambassador to Ukraine apparently used unencrypted cellphones for a call about political developments in Ukraine that became public.Boeing’s tamper-proof phone is aimed at government agencies and contractors who need to keep communication and data secure, according to Boeing and filings with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.The company has been developing the phone for 36 months, said Boeing spokeswoman Rebecca Yeamans. “We saw a need for our customers in a certain market space” that Boeing could meet with its technology expertise, she said.A sample purchase contract submitted to the FCC says the phone would be sold directly by Boeing or its agents. Yeamans said Boeing combined its own engineers with the talent of people who joined Boeing recently through acquisitions that included Argon ST Inc, Digital Receiver Technology Inc, Kestrel Enterprises Inc, Ravenwing Inc, and Solutions Made Simple Inc.

With inputs from Reuters

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Boeing builds self-destructing Android phone to shield top secret info

US aerospace firm Boeing has made a secure smartphone that will destroy its data and render itself inoperable if tampered with.

The phone has been designed with the needs of the "US defense and security communities" in mind, and attempts to satisfy security requirements not met by current devices, according to Boeing .

The phone is what Boeing terms a "sealed device", due to the physical and digital countermeasures designed to protect the phone's hardware from interference.

"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," Boeing states in a filing with the US Federal Communications Commission .

"There are no serviceable parts on Boeing's Black phone, and any attempted servicing or replacing of parts would destroy the product," according to the filing, spotted by community site MyCE . "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."

The Boeing Black phone. Image: Boeing

The Black phone will be sold with an end-user non-disclosure agreement, as well as being "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."

The handset is driven by a dual-core 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A9-based processor and will run the Android operating system with "enhanced software security policy configuration". It has a 4.3-inch qHD screen with a 540 x 960 resolution display and GSM, WCDMA and LTE connectivity, as well as supporting Bluetooth 2.1 enhanced data rate connections.

Black phones also have a dual-SIM capability that enables users to switch between government and commercial networks.

The phone's listed security features are "embedded FIPS 140-2 key storage, hardware inhibits, trusted modules and configurable OS security policies". The phone supports disk encryption, hardware root of trust and crypto engine, and secure boot.

"Hardware media encryption and configurable inhibit controls are embedded to protect the device, its data, and the transmission of information, significantly reducing the risk of mission compromise due to data loss," according to Boeing .

A modular expansion port allows additional sensors or add-ons to be fitted to the phone to provide satellite connectivity, expanded power capacity, or other additional features. The device also includes a portable digital media interface (PDMI) and a micro USB port. Onboard storage can be expanded via microSD card.

The Black phone weighs 170g and has a 1590 mAh lithium-ion battery.

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