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Sectera Edge: The US President’s Mobile Phone

The insistence of US President Barack Obama to still carry a mobile phone prevailed over security concerns and he is the first United States president to ever carry one while in the oval office.

Apparently, that means he has to use a secure unit specially made for the NSA — the Sectera Edge {via}. It’s a Blackberry-like device that allows for secure and non-secure communication for making calls, SMS and emails.

sectera-edge

There’s no way of knowing what’s inside this celly except for the price tag of $3,500. If you want one, just ring up General Dynamics (the contractor that developed the phone) and ask permission for the National Security Agency to get one.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

17 Responses

  1. Avatar for Tim Eum Tim Eum says:

    Note the “CAC (Common Access Card) Reader” and the “SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility)-Friendly Key”. These are what make this a secure phone. The CAC uses AES encryption to secure unclassified phone calls when needed. The SCIF Key uses NSA Type-I encryption for classified communications. A CAC and a key are both things you insert into the Sectera Edge phone (not both at the same time) and leaves the phone unclassified when removed. When inserted, the phone can only communicate to others who have the same kind of encryption/decryption on their phones/devices. The price for one device $3500 makes it pretty expensive and keeping track of the encryption keys/cards is a hassle. The classified keys themselves must be secured (i.e. put into safes capable of storing classified material) when not in use or being personally carried/secured.

  2. Avatar for CarloBlogg CarloBlogg says:

    where’s the “nuclear detonation button”? naaaa, im just joking :D:D that’s one big bulky phone though :D

  3. Avatar for CarloBlogg CarloBlogg says:

    where’s the “nuclear detonation button”? naah, just joking :D :D its a cool phone, though I will have to agree that I don’t dig the looks hehe

    http://carloblogg.blogspot.com

  4. Avatar for seoulbox seoulbox says:

    let’s wait for the chinese dudes.

    hehe.

    but hey, 200,000 for a phone? whoah.

  5. Avatar for Bob Reyes Bob Reyes says:

    @pete it looks nice! Just like my good old Palm Treo 600, has antenna, too! It’s seldom that you see a mobile phone, a PDA phone for that matter, that still has an antenna to this date.

  6. Avatar for Gerard Espinas Gerard Espinas says:

    According to Barack Obama, the use of his Blackberry will be an important communication tools for him to reach his staffs and close friends.

  7. Avatar for DTA DTA says:

    Ugly, but for Obama, it’s still a necessity, whether he needs to patch to a Secret Service mobile communications truck to make a call to any leader of the country he wishes to, or chat with some of his old friends and family.

    Current US government regulations regarding classified and specialized gadgets such as this one (including supercomputers, classified encryption technologies, ICs and the F-22 Raptor fighter plane) will put it in the export restriction list:

    http://www.bis.doc.gov/
    http://www.mcc-us.com/ExportRestrictions.htm

    Nevertheless, if compromised, this device may also include self-destruct mechanisms activated by the user to make it useless.

  8. Avatar for pete pete says:

    are you guys blind? it looks ugly to me. it even has an antenna

  9. Avatar for Obed Obed says:

    Have you seen the exact features of this phone? Its crazy hahaha

    Here’s some info from http://www.windowsfordevices.com/news/NS6606368790.html

    The Sectera Edge has a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen display, QWERTY keyboard, and microSD slot for memory expansion. By design, there is no camera, but the phone does provide entertainment in the form of a 2.5mm stereo headset jack and Windows Media Player software.

    Finally, the device meets MIL-STD-810F standards for resistance to water intrusion, dust, shock, vibration, altitude, and other parameters. It can be operated at up to 140 deg. F, and stored at up to 167 deg. F, General Dynamics says.

    Features and specifications listed by General Dynamics for the Sectera Edge include:

    * Processor — not disclosed
    * Memory — not disclosed, but has separate RAM and ROM for unclassified and classified modes
    * Display — 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen display
    * Wireless interfaces:
    o WAN — GSM (850/900/1800/1900)/EDGE, GSM (850/1900/2100) UMTS/HSDPA, or CDMA (800/1900) 1xRTT, CDMA (800/1900) EV-DO Rel. A
    o WAN — 802.11b/g (optional)
    * Other I/O:
    o 1 x USB
    o 1 x serial (operable in classified mode only)
    o 2.5mm stereo headset jack
    * Expansion — microSD slot
    * Dimensions and weight — not disclosed
    * Operating temperature -9 to 140 deg. F

  10. Avatar for Abe Olandres Abe Olandres says:

    @noLabel – I agree. No such thing as “new” news, just old news. ;)

  11. Avatar for noLabel noLabel says:

    dude, this is old news. Obama is now allowed to continue using hes Blackberry.

  12. Avatar for jhay jhay says:

    It’s really great of President Obama do still carry a phone with him. It breaks the bubble that cuts him off from the real world.

    Let’s just hope no hacker cracks the security of the phone and compromise his safety.

  13. Avatar for deuts deuts says:

    Nice phone, I sure will get one! LOL!

  14. Avatar for paul farol paul farol says:

    Coolness!

    I thoroughly agree with Angelo on this one.

    I can imagine people interrupting a conversation to say, “Excuse me, my Sectera Edge is ringing.”

    The hapless friend will probably ask,”What’s that? Is that like my E-90?”

    And you’d say, “Nothing like it and now that you’ve seen it, I’ll have to kill you.”

    I am sure, some Philippine government officials will cough up the price and use their connections in the US just to get one.

    Darn, that’s P200,000 for a phone and several hundred million for the infrastructure needed to make it functional.

  15. Avatar for Angelo Panares Angelo Panares says:

    Just saying its name already makes you cool.

    What’s your phone ? Sectera Edge ….. !

    Let’s wait and see if the Chinese machinery can recreate this one.

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