Alternative to android Blackphone in development.

[blankslate]

http://arstechnica.com/security/201...e-that-wont-get-you-beaten-with-rubber-hoses/

Interest in secure communications is at an all time high, with many concerned about spying by both governments and corporations. This concern has stimulated developments such as the Blackphone, a custom-designed handset running a forked version of Android that's built with security in mind.

But the Blackphone has a problem. The mere fact of holding one in your hand advertises to the world that you're using a Blackphone.

~snip~

Using such a phone is advertising that you have sensitive material that you're trying to keep secret and is an invitation to break out the rubber hoses.

That's what led a team of security researchers to develop DarkMatter, unveiled today at the Hack In The Box security conference in Kuala Lumpur. DarkMatter is a secure Android fork, but unlike Blackphone and its custom hardware, DarkMatter is a secure Android that runs on regular Android phones (including the Galaxy S4 and Nexus 5) and which, at first glance, looks just like it's stock Android.

It's a good point that someone who knows what a black phone is would be curious what you are hiding.
Being able to secure a common model with a custom Android build is a better way to carry sensitive data because you're hiding the vault in plain sight.
It is also being built up with the idea of being easier to use for laypeople than most alternatives... although that may inhibit the security features if not done right. Ease of use and security sometimes don't mix together so easily.

it's still a year away at least before release but it seems like an interesting development for gadget security.


....

 

[Chiefcrowe]

Good idea, I'd want to check this out when it's released.

 

[John Connor]

Just use Silent Circle and a VPN.

 

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Just use Silent Circle and a VPN.

That would be a substitute for part of what the Android fork would do...

the other thing is storage of, and access to sensitive data on the phone and what happens when an unauthorized person looks for something hidden on the phone.

The special sauce of DarkMatter is secure encrypted storage that selected apps can transparently access. If the firmware believes it's under attack, the secure storage will be silently dismounted, and the phone will appear, to all intents and purposes, to be a regular non-secure device.

In essence a black phone that looks like an everyday Nexus, LG, Samsung, etc. Very cool if it works out imo.