The Boeing Black smartphone, powered by Android, represents a security blanket in the post-Edward Snowden age in which nothing - not even that call to the babysitter about Friday - is totally private. The phone cannot be assailed by hackers: If there is an attempt to break its casing by unauthorized users, it will self-destruct. Just attempting to break it casing would lead to deletion of both software and data, making the phone inoperable.
During recent commotion over a security flaw of Apple's operating system for mobile, there was a mention of a totally unassailable phone, which critics quickly brushed off as impossible.
Boeing, apparently, is more hopeful.
Just this month, the specs of the high-end smartphone Black were submitted by the Chicago-based company to the FCC, which is also requesting that the details be kept secret. According to the letter to the Federal Communications Commission, Bruce Olcott, Boeing's counsel said the device will be sold to government agencies, or to companies that are part of contractual activities to agencies having to do with homeland security or defense.
Olcott explained that the device is sealed, and that its sale will come with a non-disclosure agreement for its end-user.
The sleek Black smartphone is a spy-worthy device designed with modularity and security in mind. The external casing is sealed with screws and epoxy and the heads are canopied with tamper-proof covering to detect attempts of disassembly. It can accept two SIM cards and can run GSM, LTE and WCDMA bands. Users can also add biometric sensors for added security.