NSA And Google Developing Hardened Android Kernel For Government Communication

[WoZzY]

NSA And Google Developing Hardened Android Kernel For

Government Communication; Will Be More Secure Than BlackBerry


This is a pretty wild piece of news. Google, George Mason University, and the NSA are working to make Android the most secure OS out there. They're developing a "hardened" kernel so Android can pass all the necessary red tape to be deployed for government use. By 2012 they expect Android to be good enough for classified communication, and eventually they'll hit a higher security clearance level than BlackBerrys. Poor BlackBerry, security was one of the last things they had left.

It seems like all the heavy hitters are on board to deploy this super-secure version of Android. The Obama Administration, the FBI, the Justice Department, the Army, and first responders are all mentioned as interested parties. The Army wants to take Android into combat, the White House wants to dump blackberry, and first responders want to replace their insecure radio equipment. That's right, real life Android Police.

No word on when (or if) all this securitywill trickle down to us civilians; hopefully Google made that part of the deal. More security is always a good thing, right?




Source: Government Computer News (thanks Steve!)

 

[tennvol]

Awesome. SIPR and JWICS on my Android.

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[kodiak799]

This is actually a pretty big deal, I think, because it will help convince corporate IT folks that Android is very secure. Although most IT's will be reluctant to allow Android because of the difficulty supporting all the different devices, even if it's somewhat irrational.

 

[jroc]

This combined with Motorola's encrypted bootloader and their normally rugged designs...I can see them as a first choice. And if Motorola is wanted first or favored, seems like a very good business decision about the bootloader. Some of us mentioned this last year about the bootloader and them possibly going after RIM's market.

Them normally having better reception than most could be in their favor too. I thought I would NEVER see RIM getting pushed out of the govt, corporate world. If this works out well, the corporate world will probably follow suit. Surprised they arent scared off by the lawsuits.

 

[mcjonesy]

Awesome. SIPR and JWICS on my Android.

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Now someone just needs to make an Intellink app.

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[Shadez]

Moved to new section ..