Silent Circle and Geeksphone have got together to provide high-end security features through Blackphone, an Android-based smartphone.
In light of recent events, people have grown wary of their information being tapped by security agencies such as the NSA. Recent leak of classified details of several top-secret U.S. and U.K. government mass surveillance programs by Edward Snowden has got us all worried about our privacy. Tech companies and carriers have raised their voices against the spying activity, but have failed to regain people's trust. A new joint venture between Silent Circle and Geeksphone is bringing a new smartphone that promises to guard user information from spying eyes.
The new smartphone, called the Blackphone, is based on a security-oriented Android platform called PrivateOS. The smartphone will run all the normal apps but will allow consumers and businesses to make and receive secure phone calls, texts, and files. The phone will set up a VPN for secure browsing and video chats.
"I have spent my whole career working towards the launch of secure telephony products," Phil Zimmermann, Co-founder & President of Silent Circle, said in a press release, Wednesday. "Blackphone provides users with everything they need to ensure privacy and control of their communications, along with all the other high-end smartphone features they have come to expect."
The team responsible for the Blackphone has a credible background and comes from reputed firms, Silent Circle and Geeksphone. The latter is a popular Madrid-based phone company that has built phones for years, which mostly run Android or a version of Firefox OS. Headquartered in Washington D.C., Silent Circle is a secure communications firm founded by PGP creator Zimmermann and Jo Callas. The joint venture is based in Switzerland.
In October last year, founder of well-known antivirus firm-McAfee, John McAfee revealed similar plans of developing a gadget called "D-Central" that keeps files and data shared with other smartphones, tablets and laptops secure from NSA or any other government agency. The device is expected to launch sometime in March this year.
