Air Force Drops iPad EFB plans

I was wondering how they were going to get around the security issue of plugging the things into a DoD computer to sync and update......I don't believe the issue is a Russian software company as the article suggests......The bigger issue is inserting a COTS device made in Asia into a government network.....big no-no.
 
Which COTS computers aren't made in Asia nowadays?

Or all their components other than perhaps a lonely TI or Lucent chip manufactured in Mexico...
 
denverpilot said:
Which COTS computers aren't made in Asia nowadays?
Click to expand...
True, but without getting into a classified discussion, it is the mobile devices (iPads, iPods, iPhones, mp3 players, other cell phones) that have been a particular problem.
 
I'd say the bigger looming problem is the virtual 100% market share Qualcomm has on the CDMA tech... on any new deployments, since any new deployment has something of theirs embedded in it.

Good for them (and shareholders), but not the competitive ideal for security worriers who care if things are single-sourced.

Will be interesting when someone finds a significant math flaw or die flaw in their chipset(s). Many manufacturers were deploying stuff Q said was still "late Alpha" grade in phones already on store shelves a couple years ago.

Same problem with APCO 25 until recently. Single CODEC, single manufacturer.

Not a good idea. CODECs and crypto engines should always be changeable via firmware.

We never learn... ;)
 
Our company still prohibits iDevices over security concerns. Several of them.

It's not the fact that they were made in Asia, per se, it's that neither the device nor the transmissions from the device can be fully secured. While that may be OK for consumers that don't care, it's a big deal for companies that have IP to protect (including export restrictions on technology).
 
wsuffa said:
It's not the fact that they were made in Asia, per se, it's that neither the device nor the transmissions from the device can be fully secured. While that may be OK for consumers that don't care, it's a big deal for companies that have IP to protect (including export restrictions on technology).
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Exactly....you'd be amazed at what mobile devices can do without any input whatsoever from the user.

There is a reason that the DoD has a requirement to power down AND remove the battery from your cell phone when you enter a secure building.
 
Some DoD buildings, you show up at the gate with a cellular device, you won't be getting it back... Ever. :)
 
denverpilot said:
Some DoD buildings, you show up at the gate with a cellular device, you won't be getting it back... Ever. :)
Click to expand...

More accurately, you show up at the gate (or the SCIF door) and you won't be allowed to take it inside. If you do take it inside, you won't be getting it back.
 
Heh. Yup. I know someone who has lost four. He doesn't buy smartphones anymore, that's for sure!
 
Actually, the general policy in DoD facilities is to leave all electonic devices outside of the secured areas.
 
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