This Is the Kind of Phone Edward Snowden Might Buy

2 minute read
Blackphone 2
Blackphone 2
By Alex Fitzpatrick

Privacy-focused smartphone and software maker on Monday revealed the Blackphone 2, the company’s second shot at making the most secure mobile device on the market.

The Blackphone 2’s hardware is similar enough to other modern phones: A 5.5-inch screen, eight-core processor, 3GB of RAM and expandable memory. But the Blackphone 2’s true raison d’etre lies at the software level. It’s running Silent Circle’s new and improved PrivatOS 1.1 on top of Google’s Android operating system, designed from the ground up to be ultra-secure. The Blackphone 2 also packs the company’s suite of privacy apps, which are essentially more secure versions of phone, text and productivity software.

“While the rest of the market is going one way, with selfie sticks and curved screens, we’re going down another, to the heart of problems, sticking with privacy and security,” Silent Circle Executive Chairman Mike Janke said at the Blackphone 2’s launch at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Gizmodo reports.

Silent Circle’s clear aim with the second iteration of the Blackphone is to break into the Apple-dominated enterprise market. Another new feature called Spaces, for example, allows users to essentially partition their Blackphone, keeping separate profiles for work and personal use. The work profile can then be administered by employers’ IT departments.

Still, Silent Circle will have to prove just how secure the Blackphone 2 really is before corporate buyers hop on board. Silent Circle attracts plenty of attention from hackers just by advertising its devices as super-secure — security researchers made headlines last year when they were able to hack the Blackphone, though one flaw they exploited was already fixed with a software patch and the others required settings no security-minded user would enable.

The Blackphone 2 should be out by the end of the year.

PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today

A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I.
1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I.Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images
French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point').
1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point').Keystone/Holton/Getty Images
An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London.
1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London.Kypros/Getty Images
Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work.
1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work.Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images
THE A-TEAM -- "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith.
1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith.Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images
Bill Clinton, Ray Flynn
1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25.Mark Lennihan—AP
Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas.
1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas.Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images
A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.
1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.India Today Group/Getty Images
World Trade Center Terrorist Attack.
2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11.Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 2 in Ben Jawat, Libya.
2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images
A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo.
2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo.Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images
Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida.
2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images
A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast.
2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones.Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP

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