Now that Obama has won the fight for keeping his Blackberry and e-mail, a number of security issues arise. "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," Robert Gibbs said.
Since Obama is considered a change agent and also a friend of technology, some have said it might be valuable to see him take advantage of quick access to e-mail and the Internet. A BlackBerry in the hands of the most powerful man in the world might serve as a valuable channel for feedback from advisers, average citizens and even rivals.
The real issue with communicating over e-mail is that it's too risky for a president, since nobody can prove he did or didn't send an e-mail. Also, there are worries about spies tracking Obama's whereabouts, since a BlackBerry keeps transmitting to get new e-mail off RIM's Network Operations Centre. That information can be used to track someone's location, a real danger for a U.S. president in an era of terrorism. Spies can use radio tracking equipment, similar to that used by military forces around the world to track troop movements.
RIM has in the past built BlackBerry devices for certain customers that include software and hardware to add high-level encryption. With such end-to-end encryption, which relies on the Advanced Encryption Standard 256(AES-256), it would be hard to imagine "even a foreign power throwing huge computer power to brute force crack that kind of encryption," he said. But encryption is not the weak link in using a BlackBerry. The weak link is how he could prove that he didn't send an e-mail to a woman claiming he had a link with her?
“If it were a regular BlackBerry, the Chinese and Russians would be devoting millions of dollars to get into it” said a security analyst.
Even though Gibbs repeatedly called it a BlackBerry, some say that the handheld is probably something else. The device Obama pulled from his pocket looked too large to be a BlackBerry. Its silver skin looked like that of the Sectera Edge, which is already being used by thousands of federal government workers.
The security analysts say 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 centre outside of the U.S. as the BlackBerry does, with NOCs in Canada and Europe
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. Two security analysts 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 super-encryption of messages. Despite new talk about encryption, a security expert said the main issue about how the president would use his super-encrypted BlackBerry is whether it was being used for contact with people outside government. If Obama wanted to reach an outsider via the BlackBerry, then the person getting his messages would need to have a BlackBerry equipped with super-decryption capabilities. That's not likely to happen because of the cost involved in sharing encryption technology for public use, said Daniel Castro, a senior analyst for security matters at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Castro said in an interview that the biggest security threat with using a standard wireless device is that a foreign government or a group perceived as a threat could triangulate his location fairly easily. Castro also posited that an outsider could turn Obama's BlackBerry into a microphone that could then transmit voice messages to an outsider without Obama's knowledge.
“Perhaps the NSA and US telecommunications companies have created a special, more secure digital pathway for Obama's messages to travel on, one that would resist the inevitable penetration attempts by foreign governments” says a blogger Marc Ambinder
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.
President Barack Obama said in a television interview broadcast that he has a very secure handheld device, but he would not divulge whether or not he's still using his coveted BlackBerry. "It has everything," Obama said in an interview shown on NBC, referring to his handheld and its security and other features. "It can turn into a car." he said for a laugh. Obama hasn't shown the device publicly, only offering a glimpse of the handheld's backside when he made a press room appearance on Jan. 22.
The people who know Obama's top secret email address are exceedingly few: Biden, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, senior adviser David Axelroad, press secretary Robert Gibbs, a few other top advisers and a selected group of friends from Chicago. Even some cabinet members, like Defence Secretary Robert Gates don't have his email address. And, it's likely that his top secret email address will be changed on a regular basis.
If you are lucky enough to get an email from him, it's encrypted in such a way that it can't be forwarded to your parents, or anyone. No attachments will get through, either.
Anyways, whatever it is I guess the media should get over it now. Enough of Obama’s Blackberry and his e-mail. I think they should let Obama live the way he wants and get a life for themselves too.
Since Obama is considered a change agent and also a friend of technology, some have said it might be valuable to see him take advantage of quick access to e-mail and the Internet. A BlackBerry in the hands of the most powerful man in the world might serve as a valuable channel for feedback from advisers, average citizens and even rivals.
The real issue with communicating over e-mail is that it's too risky for a president, since nobody can prove he did or didn't send an e-mail. Also, there are worries about spies tracking Obama's whereabouts, since a BlackBerry keeps transmitting to get new e-mail off RIM's Network Operations Centre. That information can be used to track someone's location, a real danger for a U.S. president in an era of terrorism. Spies can use radio tracking equipment, similar to that used by military forces around the world to track troop movements.
RIM has in the past built BlackBerry devices for certain customers that include software and hardware to add high-level encryption. With such end-to-end encryption, which relies on the Advanced Encryption Standard 256(AES-256), it would be hard to imagine "even a foreign power throwing huge computer power to brute force crack that kind of encryption," he said. But encryption is not the weak link in using a BlackBerry. The weak link is how he could prove that he didn't send an e-mail to a woman claiming he had a link with her?
“If it were a regular BlackBerry, the Chinese and Russians would be devoting millions of dollars to get into it” said a security analyst.
Even though Gibbs repeatedly called it a BlackBerry, some say that the handheld is probably something else. The device Obama pulled from his pocket looked too large to be a BlackBerry. Its silver skin looked like that of the Sectera Edge, which is already being used by thousands of federal government workers.
The security analysts say 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 centre outside of the U.S. as the BlackBerry does, with NOCs in Canada and Europe
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. Two security analysts 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 super-encryption of messages. Despite new talk about encryption, a security expert said the main issue about how the president would use his super-encrypted BlackBerry is whether it was being used for contact with people outside government. If Obama wanted to reach an outsider via the BlackBerry, then the person getting his messages would need to have a BlackBerry equipped with super-decryption capabilities. That's not likely to happen because of the cost involved in sharing encryption technology for public use, said Daniel Castro, a senior analyst for security matters at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Castro said in an interview that the biggest security threat with using a standard wireless device is that a foreign government or a group perceived as a threat could triangulate his location fairly easily. Castro also posited that an outsider could turn Obama's BlackBerry into a microphone that could then transmit voice messages to an outsider without Obama's knowledge.
“Perhaps the NSA and US telecommunications companies have created a special, more secure digital pathway for Obama's messages to travel on, one that would resist the inevitable penetration attempts by foreign governments” says a blogger Marc Ambinder
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.
President Barack Obama said in a television interview broadcast that he has a very secure handheld device, but he would not divulge whether or not he's still using his coveted BlackBerry. "It has everything," Obama said in an interview shown on NBC, referring to his handheld and its security and other features. "It can turn into a car." he said for a laugh. Obama hasn't shown the device publicly, only offering a glimpse of the handheld's backside when he made a press room appearance on Jan. 22.
The people who know Obama's top secret email address are exceedingly few: Biden, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, senior adviser David Axelroad, press secretary Robert Gibbs, a few other top advisers and a selected group of friends from Chicago. Even some cabinet members, like Defence Secretary Robert Gates don't have his email address. And, it's likely that his top secret email address will be changed on a regular basis.
If you are lucky enough to get an email from him, it's encrypted in such a way that it can't be forwarded to your parents, or anyone. No attachments will get through, either.
Anyways, whatever it is I guess the media should get over it now. Enough of Obama’s Blackberry and his e-mail. I think they should let Obama live the way he wants and get a life for themselves too.
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