World Leaders And Their Smartphones

© Sputnik/ Michael Klimentyev

Sputnik: World Leaders and Their Mobile Phone Devices: Who Uses What?

Life without smartphones may be unimaginable for some. Instant messaging, posting videos, photos and ads, as well as sharing content on numerous social media platforms and addressing communities and constituencies online – all that ideally requires uninterrupted access to smartphones and mobile services.

For some world leaders this is exactly the case, while others are more careful and mindful of the times mobile technology had failed its users. So what is the relationship of world’s top politicians and smartphones and what mobile phones do country leaders prefer to use?

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WNU Editor: Putin does not have a cell phone .... now that is a surprise.

Lebanon’s Intelligence Accused of Using WhatsApp Phishing to Spy On Android Smartphones Worldwide

Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon's Directorate of General Security (DGS), attends an urgent security meeting with leaders of government security agencies. (photo credit: REUTERS)

Reuters: Lebanese security agency turns smartphone into selfie spycam: researchers

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s intelligence service may have turned the smartphones of thousands of targeted individuals into cyber-spying machines in one of the first known examples of large-scale state hacking of phones rather than computers, researchers say.

Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security (GDGS) has run more than 10 campaigns since at least 2012 aimed mainly at Android phone users in at least 21 countries, according to a report by mobile security firm Lookout and digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

The cyber attacks, which seized control of Android smartphones, allowed the hackers to turn them into victim-monitoring devices and steal any data from them undetected, the researchers said on Thursday. No evidence was found that Apple (AAPL.O) phone users were targeted, something that may simply reflect the popularity of Android in the Middle East.

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More News On Reports That Lebanon’s Intelligence Spied On Android Smartphones Worldwide

Lebanese Intelligence Turned Targets' Android Phones Into Spy Devices, Researchers Say -- New York Times
General Security bungles global spying scheme: report -- Daily Star
Report links hacking campaign to Lebanese security agency -- AP
Lebanese Government Hackers Hit Thousands of Victims With Incredibly Simple Campaign -- Motherboard
Lebanese intelligence 'hacks smartphones' in mass spying operation -- Al Arabiya
Lebanon’s Intelligence Accused of Using WhatsApp Phishing to Spy -- Asharq Al-Awsat

No Personal Cell Phones For Those Who Work At The White House?

Thank you @gawker! Call me on my cellphone 917.756.8000 and listen to my campaign message.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2015

Bloomberg: White House Weighs Personal Mobile Phone Ban for Staff

* Official says move driven by concerns for network security
* Trump has repeatedly complained about unauthorized news leaks

The White House may ban its employees from using personal mobile phones while at work, raising concerns among some staffers including that they’ll be cut off from family and friends, according to seven administration officials.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly complained about press leaks since taking office, but one official said the potential change isn’t connected to concerns about unauthorized disclosures to news organizations.

The proposed ban is instead driven by cybersecurity concerns, the officials said. One official said that there are too many devices connected to the campus wireless network and that personal phones aren’t as secure as those issued by the federal government. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly -- whose personal phone was found to be compromised by hackers earlier this year -- is leading the push for a ban, another official said.

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WNU Editor: If you work for the government and you have a cell phone .... you will have to assume that all of texts will be made public one day. And as for those who believe that this is a measure being implemented to stop leak leaks to the press .... please .... leaks to the press were happening long before the invention of the cell phone, and will continue if these phones are banned.

Using Smartphones To Wage War

A U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant Uses An Army Issued Smartphone To Pull Up A Map For Afghan Villagers United States Army via Wikimedia

Paul Scharre, National Interest: The Smartphone Wars are Coming

Information technology tools will transform the operating environment for U.S. forces in significant ways, ushering in an era of radical transparency, connectivity, and atomization of conflict. Can America's military adapt?

We are living today in the midst of the greatest democratization of information since the invention of the printing press. Smartphones transform any person into a citizen reporter, the leader of a digitally-enabled smart mob, or the spark of a new viral movement. Information technology connects people and empowers. This technology (literally) in the hands of everyday people is changing the operating environment in profound ways for U.S. military forces, creating a world of radical transparency, connectivity, and atomization of conflict.

WNU Editor: There are limits to this technology in a full scale war .... such as what happens when one side makes the decision to bomb the cell towers .... or a country decides to shut off the internet.

The U.S. Air Force Want To Use Android Tablets To Designate Targets And To Send The Details To The Pilots

Talk Android

Strategy Page: Electronic Weapons: Android And The Taps Of Doom

The U.S. Air Force has successfully tested a new tool for air controllers on the ground and the bomber pilots they work with; PCAS (Persistent Close Air Support). This is software that runs on an Android tablet used by the air controller. The tablet is linked with communications gear that can share data instantly with aircraft overhead. The air controller can tap the tablet a few times to designate target location, type of weapon to be used and when the strike is to occur. This an air controller can quickly designate and hit multiple ground targets with GPS or laser guided bombs and missiles. If the target is moving the controller can indicate that and call for a weapon that can follow and hit a moving target. The air controller software is but one of many PCAS systems in development.

WNU editor: Oral communications can cause misunderstandings, but by conveying information in a digital manner will probably lead to better targeting.

Drones Can Now Search For Smart Phones That Are Not Secured

This Drone Can Steal What's On Your Phone -- CNN

The next threat to your privacy could be hovering over head while you walk down the street.

Hackers have developed a drone that can steal the contents of your smartphone -- from your location data to your Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) password -- and they've been testing it out in the skies of London. The research will be presented next week at the Black Hat Asia cybersecurity conference in Singapore.

The technology equipped on the drone, known as Snoopy, looks for mobile devices with Wi-Fi settings turned on.

Snoopy takes advantage of a feature built into all smartphones and tablets: When mobile devices try to connect to the Internet, they look for networks they've accessed in the past.

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My Comment: More evidence that our private lives are not really private.

Boeing To Market A Self-Destructing Smartphone To U.S. Government Agencies

The Ultimate Spy Phone: Boeing Reveals Secret 'Blackphone' That Can SELF DESTRUCT If Tampered With -- Daily Mail

* Handset will run Google's Android Software
* Any attempt to open the case automatically deletes all data and renders phone useless
* Will be able to take two sim cards for secure calls

For those paranoid about protecting their selfies, Boeing has revealed the ultimate handset.

Designed for secure communication between governmental agencies and their contractors, the handset can self destruct if it is tampered with, destroying all the data on it.

However, the phone is so secure that Boeing will only sell it to 'approved' purchasers.

The secret handset was uncovered by website myce, who spotted an FCC filing for it.

According to the filing the Boeing Black is primarily designed for secure communication between governmental agencies and their contractors.

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More News On Boeing Developing A Smartphone That Can Self Destruct

Boeing Black: This smartphone will self-destruct. -- Reuters
Boeing makes 'self-destruct' top secret smartphone -- BBC
Boeing creates Mission Impossible phone -- The Australian/AFP
Boeing to sell phone that can self-destruct -- CNN
Boeing's 'Black' Smartphone Can Self-Destruct -- Mashable
Meet the Boeing Black, a smart phone worthy of a spy -- Christian Science Monitor
5 Questions About The Boeing Black -- Wall Street Journal
Boeing builds self-destructing Android phone to shield top secret info -- ZDNet
Boeing reveals new spy phone -- Gizmag
Boeing Is Making a Spy Phone That Self Destructs -- Defense One
Boeing's 'Black' smartphone will deactivate if tampered with -- CNet

The Blackphone: A Smartphone That Is NSA-Proof

Blackphone Aims To Be An NSA-Proof Smartphone -- Jared Newman, Time

Good luck with alllllllll THAT.

By now we’ve learned a lot about how the NSA intercepts private communications, whether it’s tapping into fiber optic cables, bugging laptops before they’re delivered to customers or just collecting mounds of data from tech companies upon request.

Still, a new company called Blackphone believes it can create a smartphone that’s safe from government snooping. Blackphone promises secure phone calls, texts, file transfers and video chats, along with private browsing and anonymized activity through a virtual private network. The phone is a partnership between Silent Circle, which offers encrypted communications services, and Madrid-based phone maker Geeksphone.

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More News On The Blackphone

Meet Blackphone, a potentially 'NSA-proof' smartphone -- AJC.com
Anti-NSA Blackphone: Encrypted smartphone designed to liberate users from total surveillance -- RT
Blackphone Promises to Give Smartphone Users Their Privacy -- ABC News
Introducing Blackphone: The Ultimate NSA-Proof Smartphone -- Business Insider
Android-based Blackphone promises to keep your secrets from the NSA -- Wired
Secure smartphone called Blackphone will thwart security laws -- Digital Journal
PGP creator’s new ‘Blackphone’ is a secure Android phone that may protect you from the NSA -- Venture Beat
Blackphone, 'NSA-Proof' Smartphone Focused On Privacy, To Debut In February -- Huffington Post
This Phone Is An NSA-Free, Secret-Storing Black Box -- Popular Science
Renowned cryptographer believes his 'Blackphone' can stop the NSA -- The Verge
Blackphone Could Be the First NSA-Proof Phone -- Mashable
Blackphone: A secure, encrypted smartphone for the post-Snowden era -- Extreme Tech

The Pentagon Unveils It's Plan For Smart Phones, Tablets, And Other Mobile Devices

Pentagon Unveils Plan To Tap Potential Of Mobile Devices -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The Pentagon unveiled a plan on Tuesday to ultimately enable the Defense Department's 600,000 users of smartphones, computer tablets and other mobile devices to rapidly share classified and protected data using the latest commercial technologies.

The system aims to quickly enable the latest technologies to be securely used by the military while remaining "device agnostic," said Major General Robert Wheeler, a Defense Department deputy chief information officer.

That sets the stage for an intensified struggle for Pentagon customers among BlackBerry devices, Apple's iPhones or iPads, and units using Google's Android platform.

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More News On The Pentagon Unveiling It's Plans For Smart Phones, Tablets, And Other Mobile Devices

DoD releases new plan for mobile devices -- Army Times
Pentagon Details Mobile Plan to Support 600,000 End Users -- Nextgov
Despite Security Issues, Pentagon Clears Android, iOS for Duty -- TechNewsWorld
More support for Apple, Google at Pentagon could spell problems for BlackBerry -- ZDNet
Pentagon to open networks to iOS, Android devices in 2014 -- Apple Insider
Pentagon will open networks for Android in early 2014 -- Android Community
Sending top secret information? There's an app for that -- CNN

Coming Soon To The Defense Department: Android-Based Smart Phones And Tablets Capable Of Handling Classified Information

The Pentagon Is Expanding Its Smartphone For Spies Program -- Foreign Policy

While the rest of the DC press corps is talking about Chuck Hagel's qualifications to be the next defense secretary, Killer Apps is lucky enough to be writing about smart phones. Secret smart phones, that is. That's right, the National Security Agency and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) are set to expand the program that gives government officials Android-based smart phones and tablets capable of handling classified information.

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My Comment: The Pentagon is so far behind the curve on this one .... but at least they are catching up.

How To Get A Military-Grade Secure Smartphone

The Saife Defender X1, a smartphone with military-grade security and encryption. (Ascent Rugged Mobile / SAIFE)

How Civilians Can Get Military-Grade Secure Smartphones -- FOX News

Want a James Bond-style smartphone?

The new James Bond thriller “Skyfall” has just launched -- and so has a military-grade smartphone that you don’t need a Q to get your hands on. Use it and your conversations, texts and data will be secure even in extreme conditions.

Cummings Engineering has partnered with veteran-owned small business Ascent Rugged Mobile to launch the SAIFE Defender with the tagline “Rugged on the outside. Safe on the inside.”

The companies say they are giving civilians access for the first time to an ultra-rugged Android device with secure digital communications.

“We want to be the Swiss Army knife of secure mobile applications for the military and law enforcement communities,” said Cummings Engineering’s Darren Cummings.

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My Comment: I want one.

U.S. Military On The Hunt For Safe And Secured Smartphones

U.S. Military Hunts For Safe Smartphones For Soldiers -- New York Times

The military has long needed computers that are tough enough on the outside to withstand the rough and tumble of the battlefield. Now, with the proliferation of smartphones and tablets in the hands of soldiers, those devices also have to be strong on the inside. They are loaded with contacts, location information and all kinds of military-grade applications, so it can be deadly for a soldier to lose a mobile device or have its data leak out unwittingly.

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My Comment: I guess past talk of limiting access of smart phones to soldiers who are deployed in a combat zone is now just that .... past talk.