Drea Knufken
PC World reports speculation the President Barack Obama is getting an ultra-secure Sectera Edge–basically, a Blackberry pimped out to NSA standards–as his mobile communication device:
The Sectera Edge is a smartphone made by a defense contractor called General Dynamics. The device, according to General Dynamics, was actually developed for the National Security Agency (NSA) and is considered a “secure mobile environment portable electronic device.”
the thing uses an alphabet soup of secure protocols to make sure all communications are encrypted and safe from would-be spies. The Sectera Edge uses SCIP, or Secure Communications Interoperability Protocol, along with HAIPE IS — High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor Interoperability Specification (try saying that three times fast) — to create connections with classified government networks. Its feature list even includes the specific option to “exchange secure e-mail with government personnel.”
The Sectera Edge offers all the standard stuff — calendar, tasks, desktop synchronization. Oh, and it even meets military standards for drop and shock protection. The Sectera operates on a Microsoft Windows platform. And both AT&T and T-Mobile offer secure voice and data service for the device.
Its pricetag? $3,350.
This president is a real trendsetter. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sectera gets picked up as the new cool by well-off early adopters.
