Post-Snowden revelations about NSA snooping on private data of almost every individual, Silent Circle, a Switzerland based encryption firm, has partnered with the Spanish phone manufacturer, Geeksphone that uses Android platform for its mobile devices, to produce Blackphone—the most secure smartphone in the world.
Phil Zimmerman, one of Silent Circle’s founder and a renowned cryptographer, noted, “What we are trying to do is to make a smartphone whose whole purpose is to protect users’ privacy.” The hardware and the software of the device have been specifically modified with pre-installed communication services, implying, “no hooks to carriers or vendors” for the handsets. Its press release statement promises “placing privacy and control directly in the hands of its users.”
The features will allow secure phone calls, messages, file transfer and storage besides allowing private web browsing, the manufacturers claim. It will work with any GSM carrier and will be “among the top performers”. Slated to be introduced in the market at the Mobile World Congress on February 24, the price and the real picture of the smartphone is yet to be revealed.
Right now, the company website hosts only a darkened photo of the device without any details about its features and applications. The smartphone was conceptualized by Phil Zimmerman who is also the creator of the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) email encryption software. Silent Circle has been fairly successful with its three well-known launches software: Silent Phone, Silent Text and Silent Mail. The last one was aborted in mid-2013 following orders from the Feds.
Extensive spying from NSA has spawned a new business with many companies offering hardware and software solutions promising secure and spy-proof communications.
Tell us what do you think? Can this Blackphone be a start of new ear where NSA will not be able to poke its nose?