Silent Circle, the maker of privacy-focused Blackphone 2, warned customers on Jan. 16 to stay away from unauthorized third-party distributors of its Blackphone.
In line with the warning, the company recently pushed out an update that puts out of action the Blackphones bought through non-approved channels.
The new update - Silent OS 3.0.8 - has been rolled out silently and is not listed on Silent Cilrcle's website. There is a possibility that the update is intended only for Blackphones bought via unauthorized channels.
Upon installation, update checks the IMEI number to establish whether the phone is genuine or not. If it is established that the phone was not sold through an accredited vendor, the user is shown a message that the smartphone has been identified as an "unlicensed device." The update also disables Silent OS.
The "unlicensed device" tag clearly states that there are counterfeit devices in the "gray market" that are manufactured by cloning the original Blackphone. The other option of fake Blackphones flooding the market could be "Night Runs."
Night Runs is a practice where devices are produced in a larger quantity than required by the company's manufacturer and the extra units are sold in the black market.
Fake Blackphone Update Repercussions
Ars Technica was contacted by a user from Germany who had installed the SilentOS update 3.0.8 on his Blackphone that he purchased from eBay. The user stated that the Blackphone he received looked exactly like the original. Upon installation, the update "bricked" the phone, which was working properly even after the Silent OS 3.0.7 update.
"It worked up to Silent OS 3.0.7, [but] Silent OS 3.0.8 seems to intentionally brick the baseband on some devices," stated the user.
Silent Circle responded on being contacted and stated that the IMEI number provided by the user has determined that the device he purchased was not genuine. It was not sold by Silent Circle or through any of its authorized sellers. The company advised the user to directly contact the vendor from whom he purchased the phone.
The last update listed on the Silent Circle website is Silent OS 3.0.7, which was rolled out on Dec. 29, 2016 to fix "security vulnerabilities."
Why Take This Step?
Silent Circle in the past had issued warnings to customers to buy only genuine Blackphones from the company or any authorized seller. This was done to curb the rampant sale of fake Blackphones bearing the company branding without authorization in the market.
eBay and other third-party sites enlist many resellers offering "new" and "real" Blackphones to customers at a price much cheaper than offered by Silent Circle's authorized sellers.
Customers based in the United States can purchase a Blackphone through Silent Circle's website for $599. Silent Mobile's authorized sellers Kickmobiles and Styx cater to customers based in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. For Asia Pacific sales, Silent Circle has tied up with DialogHub.
