Boeing Develops A Self-Destructing Smartphone For Missions

Following the release of the Blackphone, the most secure handset currently on offer, Boeing has announced that it has developed an uber secure smartphone designed for handling top secret communications, named simply Black.

Boeing is better known for producing aeroplanes but has created a smartphone that if tampered with, automatically deletes any data and effectively kills itself off. The company explained how it plans to help organisations get “trusted access to data to accomplish their missions”.

Unlike the Blackphone, which has been developed for use by businesses and consumers concerned with privacy, Boeing’s Black is not aimed at the mainstream market. The smartphone took thirty-six months to create but so far does not have an official release date.

According to Boeing’s website, the device will house two SIM cards that will enable the user to switch between a government and commercial network. It will run on the Android operating system which has been specially customized and it will come loaded with Boeing branded security apps.

However what really makes Black more secure than any other device is the way the hardware itself has been enhanced.

“There are no serviceable parts on Boeing’s Black phone and any attempted servicing or replacing of parts would destroy the product,” the company explaines. “The Boeing Black phone is manufactured as a sealed device both with [extremely strong glue] 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.”

I wonder if this phone will feature in the next James Bond film?

[Image via forexinfo]

SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26367777