DEF CON 22 is well under way in Las Vegas and there's been plenty of action on Twitter tonight covering the event. One highlight comes from the @TeamAndIRC who has been having a bit of fun with Blackphone. After having some time with the device, Justin Case has managed to gain root access and enable ADB on the device without the need to even unlock the bootloader.
Although the exploit has now been partially patched and it's not exploitable without user intent, that's going to be a problem for the company who has been selling Blackphone as a 'secure' Android offering while arguing with BlackBerry over security. I might be a bit jaded but I'm not even surprised by this given the fact pretty much every Android device gets rooted at some point.
It's not even really news when it happens any more, it's expected. When a device CAN'T be rooted, that's more news now than one that can be rooted. In this situation though, I guess there was a bit more of an expectation that it might have been a little bit harder given the whole concept of Blackphone is based on security and privacy. Now, Blackphone will have some work to do to patch the rest of the exploit.
UPDATE - We've updated this article to reflect the fact it didn't take 5 minutes to root the Blackphone. That particular tweet from @TeamAndIRC was misinterpreted and taken out of context as was later noted.
h/t: @Kyle27_
Read more
Blackphone fires back: 'BlackBerry betrayed its customers and jettisoned its credibility'
The folks working on the security-centric Android-powered Blackphone have posted a rebuttal to the criticisms made by BlackBerry recently. The piece focuses primarily on BlackBerry's poor market performance, dwindling stock price, and ultimate reliance on competing platforms. The main selling point Blackphone CEO Toby Weir-Jones posited for their product compared to BlackBerry was...
BlackBerry discusses Blackphone and why its consumer-grade privacy is inadequate for businesses
After gathering some hype following its announcement, the Blackphone has started shipping to customers who pre-ordered the device. For those who aren't familiar with the Blackphone, it's a result of a partnership between Spanish manufacturer Geeksphone and security company Silent Circle and uses a specialized build of Android called PrivatOS, which the company has dubbed 'an...
Blackphone aims to be the world's most secure phone
Debuting at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Blackphone is setting out to be the world's most secure phone. The device is GSM unlocked and will run a custom version of Android called PrivatOS. Users will be able to make and receive secure phone calls, send and receive secure messages, transfer documents privately, browse though a VPN and more. No pricing or specs were reveled for the...
How Go Talk intends to be the BlackBerry of mobile carriers
Identity theft often goes through an unexpected route: conning the carrier. Go Talk Wireless wants to stamp out SIM swap fraud at the source.