The man responsible for the quick rooting feat is identified as Justin Case who wanted to take a poke at Blackphone. After having a few minutes with the device, Case has managed to achieve root access and enable Android Debug Bridge (ADB) on the device without having to unlock the bootloader.
The exploit, which can only be possible if coupled with user intent, has already been partially patched. However, the incident would of course be a big problem to the company who has been billing the Blackphone as a 'secure' Android model and a huge threat to Blackberry's claim to security. Then again, it's a known fact that every Android device tends to get rooted at some point.
BlackBerry bills itself as the market leader in terms of security. The company even boasts a number of certifications from worldwide government agencies in order to justify their claim. Blackphone, on the other hand, is a joint product venture between Silent Circle and Geeksphone. The device claims to deliver high-end security which caters to regular consumers. Ironically, the device was rooted at the recently concluded DEF CON security conference.
There are those who have been skeptical from the beginning on Blackphone's security feature knowing for a fact that it runs on top of Android Open Source Project. For this reason, Blackberry described it as "Consumer-Grade Privacy That's Inadequate for Businesses."
When @TeamAndIRC gained root access on the Blackphone at the DEF CON security conference, the phone hacker addressed the team behind Blackphone by telling them "It is apparent no one ran CTS (compatibility test suite) on this device."
The Blackphone, which was announced in January of this year, had been touted as an Android smartphone that enables its users to fully manipulate their privacy. The manufacturing company of the device has boasted on the phone's rigid security features. Part of its marketing strategy is a public spat with BlackBerry on which phone has more secure features.
The heavy security suite is Blackphone's key selling point. Blackphone uses encryption technologies which are already proven among governments and enterprises around the world. Its core applications bring together leading commercial security tools and enough transparency to inform consumers the risks that the phone can take and those risks which should be avoided. Other notable features include remote wipe & protect, secure search & browsing, secure file transfer & storage, secure voice, video & text, Blackphone Security Center, and compatibility with any GSM carrier.
