Ask Slashdot: Equipping a Company With Secure Android Phones? 229
An anonymous reader writes "I'm in charge of getting some phones for my company to give to our mobile reps. Security is a major consideration for us, so I'm looking for the most secure off-the-shelf solution for this. I'd like to encrypt all data on the phone and use encryption for texting and phone calls. There are a number of apps in the android market that claim to do this, but how can I trust them? For example, I tested one, but it requires a lot of permissions such as internet access; how do I know it is not actually some kind of backdoor? I know that Boeing is producing a secure phone, which is no doubt good — but probably too expensive for us. I was thinking of maybe installing Cyanogenmod onto something, using a permissions management app to try and lock down some backdoors and searching out a trustworthy text and phone encryption app. Any good ideas out there?"
Make it yourself (Score:1, Interesting)
I would recommend developing your own system. If you are dealing with highly sensitive information, you want to make sure that it is fully secure. There are plenty of independent security contractors out there to develop something for you if you do not have the skill set to make it yourself within your company. Custom ROM, kernel, and various modifications to it should do it for you.
Re:Blackberry? (Score:4, Interesting)
As can Exchange through Active Sync (on Android or iOS). Don't invest in a company that is posting a billion in hardware losses this year.
A billion in hardware losses for them is a billion in hardware GAINS for the consumer! Besides, you totally missed the point. With the BB platform, you can both encrypt all communication (instant messaging and email) as well as lock out any unencrypted communication (SMS and third party email) so your phones are as secure as anything else in your enterprise (as long as the users keep their passwords safe).
Re:Good for Enterprise (Score:4, Interesting)
I spent years managing Good on our mobiles and mail servers. It really was a miserable experience.
I'd probably do it again before switching to blackberries, though. I think they've changed ownership once or twice since I was using it.