Industry Views: The Blackphone – the phone for the privacy conscious consumer in a data driven world?

Last week the newest addition to the smartphone market, the Blackphone started shipping to security conscious consumers -  the initial stock was quickly sold out. The phone trades on its advanced security features, with a customised Android operating system and a suite of privacy-optimised software including encrypted VoIP; 'Silent Text', for secure messaging; and 'Silent Contacts', for an encrypted contact list that other apps can't access. Here we've asked for views from MEF members and the wider mobile industry on the smartphone market's latest entrant and why mobile privacy is such a …

Security of SIM cards under threat? – mobile industry reaction

This week, an announcement from Security Research Labs caused a stir, claiming that SIM cards, the ubiquitous and generally regarded safe data storage lynchpin of mobile handsets, is in fact facing a critical hacking risk.  In particular, older generation SIM cards, estimated to number some 500-750 million in the wild, could be susceptible to infection by a virus that according to Forbes, could: send premium text messages, surreptitiously re-direct and record calls, and — with the right combination of bugs — carry out payment system fraud. It has been noted that the issue is of particular …