[143028] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Obama's secure PDA
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (=?UTF-8?Q?Ivan_Krsti=C4=87?=)
Mon Jan 26 10:27:33 2009
From: =?UTF-8?Q?Ivan_Krsti=C4=87?= <krstic@solarsail.hcs.harvard.edu>
To: Cryptography List <cryptography@metzdowd.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:49:31 -0500
As I'm sure many of you've heard by now, after some initial hesitation =20=
due to legal requirements regarding the preservation of presidential =20
records, Mr. Obama has been allowed to continue using a wireless e-=20
mail device after assuming the presidency. There are still conflicting =20=
reports about whether the hardware is an altered RIM BlackBerry or a =20
different device, though the most likely contender for the latter =20
option appears to be the General Dynamics Sect=C3=A9ra Edge, which =
features =20
a "trusted [secondary] display" and two buttons used to switch between =20=
classified and unclassified operation. Some details from Declan =20
McCullagh:
<http://news.cnet.com/obamas-new-blackberry-the-nsas-secure-pda/>
Manufacturer site and (not very detailed) specs:
=
<http://www.gdc4s.com/content/detail.cfm?item=3D32640fd9-0213-4330-a742-55=
106fbaff32=20
>
I know next to nothing about the state of the art of secure cell =20
devices; do list members have any (public) knowledge or informed =20
speculation about the mechanism behind the unclassified/classified =20
switches? Are we talking two entire separate CPUs with a mutex-shared =20=
screen/keyboard? Or just offload of classified processing to a =20
separate on-chip security domain (ala ARM TrustZone)? Similarly, the =20
manufacturer lists separate class/unclass memory chips and separate =20
class/unclass USB ports. Are these sitting on two physically separate =20=
buses?
Finally, any idea why the Sect=C3=A9ra is certified up to Top Secret for =
=20
voice but only up to Secret for e-mail? (That is, what are the =20
differing requirements?)
Cheers,
--
Ivan Krsti=C4=87 <krstic@solarsail.hcs.harvard.edu> | http://radian.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryptography Mailing List
Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo@metzdowd.com
