James Bond may finally have the smartphone he always wanted. No, it's not the iPhone 5s, which allegedly can be ihacked. The phone in question is one developed by Boeing and it can, the mafucaturer claims, self destruct in less than a minute if it's tampered with.
The Boeing Black smartphone, a handset running on Android that will purportedly self-destruct when tampered, is in the works. While this information has been leaked early in 2012 and confirmed by the defense contractor, the company has filed its papers with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to mark its intention to launch the product soon.
"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 stated on its website.
The Black, as the hardware is called, will have a 4.3-inch qHD display and will tip the scale at 170 grams. Under the hood is a dual 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 brain. It will essentially run on all bands from GSM and WCDMA and LTE, and with dual capability, users will be able to switch from a commercial network to government frequency in a few clicks. Aside from its on-board storage the device has a slot for a microSD if more space will be needed by the user.
"Our architectural foundation is built upon layers of trust from embedded hardware, operating system policy controls, and compatibility with leading mobile device management systems. The device's hardware roots of trust and trusted boot ensure the device starts in a trusted state, enabling maximum security of data. 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," the Blackphone's product card stated.
Boeing also boasts of the modularity feature of the device. The design of the Blackphone will allow users to integrate other features and technologies such as biometric sensors, additional power capacity, satellite connectivity, and other customizations that will make the device more potent for users in the fields of defense, security, and space exploration.
The H8V-BLK1, as labeled on the FCC filing, will target government agencies and companies that are seeking super secure smartphones and want to keep the snooping eyes of the National Security Agency off their back.
"Boeing's Black phone will be sold primarily to government agencies and companies engaged in contractual activities with those agencies that are related to defense and homeland security. 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. Detailed technical information distributed at trade shows will be limited or protected by non-disclosure agreements," the filing read.
More description of the architecture puts the hardware on the line of ala "MIssion Impossible" toys.
"There are no serviceable parts on Boeing's Black phone and any attempted servicing or replacing of parts would destroy the product. 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 FCC filing stated.
The Boeing Black will also come with a purchase agreement that will prohibit any proprietary disclosure of about the structure and innards of the product without the written consent of the maker.
The company has not disclosed any pricing information or date of release.
