Is Obama's handheld a BlackBerry or something else?

From: Paul E. Niedermeyer <p..._at_pn.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:56:08 -0500

Is Obama's handheld a BlackBerry or something else?

Security experts say it's likely the NSA-approved Sectera Edge
By Matt Hamblen

January 23, 2009 (Computerworld) The decision announced yesterday that
President Barack Obama will keep his BlackBerry, or some model of a wireless
handheld, amid tight White House security would seem to take a back seat to
concerns about nglobal terrorism and economic turmoil.

But in a small way, Obama's desire to continue to use a wireless handheld
for personal e-mail and other communications has become a symbol of how he
sees his role. He has said repeatedly that he wants to reach beyond the
policy wonks of Washington to the body politic at large.

In that spirit, the president surprised the White House press corps
yesterday with a quick visit where he pulled a device from his coat pocket
that looked like an oversized BlackBerry -- or a perhaps like one of the
hefty bar-code scanners used to read tickets at sporting events. It was
mostly silver colored, but he was holding it screen-down, mostly covered by
his hand, so it was difficult to see.

"I won the fight, but I don't think it's actually up and running yet," Obama
said, referring to the device, as several TV news crews recorded the moment.

To be precise, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday that
the president has "a BlackBerry," but not necessarily his previous
BlackBerry.

"He has a BlackBerry through a compromise that allows him to stay in touch
with senior staff and a small group of personal friends in a way that will
be limited and security-enhanced to secure his ability to communicate, but
to do so effectively and do so in a way that is protected," Gibbs said. But
Gibbs didn't give many details, as noted in various news reports.

The device Obama intends to use might not even be a BlackBerry, and it might
not be that close in size or weight to the small, sleek device made by
Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion Ltd.

Even though Gibbs repeatedly called it a BlackBerry, four security analysts
interviewed today said the handheld is probably something else. They based
their assessments primarily on the fact that the device Obama pulled from
his pocket looked too large to be a BlackBerry. Moreover, its silver skin
looked like that of the Sectera Edge, which is already being used by
thousands of federal government workers.

The security analysts speculated that Obama will use the Sectera Edge,
designed by General Dynamics Corp. and L-3 Communications, because it meets
the government's highest security requirements. It runs on Windows CE
software, not the BlackBerry operating system, and it presumably would not
rely on an e-mail pathway through a network operations center outside of the
U.S., as the BlackBerry does, with NOCs in Canada and Europe.

The National Security Agency oversaw an $18 million contract to create the
purpose-built Sectera Edge, which is used by tens of thousands of personnel
in the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense
Department, according to Microsoft Corp. officials.

While speculation generally centers on Obama using a Sectera Edge, Fran
Jacques, a spokeswoman at General Dynamics in Scottsdale, Ariz., said she
could not confirm that Obama is using one. Officials at the White House, the
NSA and RIM could not be reached for comment, leaving the details
undetermined.

Two of the security analysts interviewed today said the Sectera Edge could
well be the device Obama will use because it will resolve many of the
security concerns, including the need for superencryption of messages.

"The Sectera Edge was built under NSA contract, so the assumption is that
the product has been developed so that it is less likely to be compromised,"
said Ira Winkler, a security analyst, former NSA employee and the author of
Spies Among Us.

A BlackBerry would be vulnerable to hackers and could be used as a listening
device to hear the president's words, Winkler said. It could even be used to
locate the president through triangulation, he added. "If it were a regular
BlackBerry, the Chinese and Russians would be devoting millions of dollars
to get into it," he said.

Presumably the Sectera Edge will send messages over secure networks, with
higher levels of security than the BlackBerry could provide, Winkler added.

The White House spokesman also said the device will be used by the president
to keep in touch with only a small group of staff and friends, which
automatically limits the security risk, the security experts said.

Daniel Castro, senior security analyst for the nonprofit Information
Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, said Obama is probably
using the Sectera Edge even though Gibbs referred to it as a BlackBerry
because BlackBerry has become almost a generic name for a number of
handhelds. Ironically, Obama will be limited in the circle of people he can
communicate with over the handheld, just when the new president was hoping
to reach out to more.

"That's what it's like to be president," Castro said. "If he wants to have a
free flow of information and hear what people are saying, he needs a two-way
blog set up by the White House staff."
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:20 CST