That is a hilarious security report.<p>1. They are selling a "secure" phone, but it only reviews their mobile apps.<p>2. They are testing their mobile apps according to the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) TOP 10. They are mobile apps, not web apps.<p>3. OWASP TOP 10 is advertised by OWASP as the "first step towards changing the software development culture within your organization into one that produces more secure code". Conformance does not mean security, it means the first step toward security.<p>It is like applying to a professorship in physics and your entire resume is that you once got a gold star on a elementary school arithmetic exam.
How many of these "private" phones turned out to be a sting operation
by the likes of the FBI? Can I look at the code and schematic? No?
Take it away. Come back when you have a product based entirely on
auditable open source hardware and software, whose operation satisfies
the Kerckhoff-Shannon principle that the only secret is my private
key.
The hyped "Unplugged messenger" is just element/matrix with the branding stripped off it. <a href="https://web.unplugged.com/#/login" rel="nofollow">https://web.unplugged.com/#/login</a><p>What a weird set of stuff, it smells really, really bad.
The Erik Prince? Mercenary and alleged-murderer Erik Prince? <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/blackwater-founder-implicated-murder/" rel="nofollow">https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/blackwater-founder...</a><p>Now selling a low-end "secure" smartphone?<p>Weird change of business, right?
I saw Greenwald getting hammered all over Twitter yesterday for getting associated with this phone and was also surprised after looking into them. Amazing that he had no actual connection to it after all...<p>“A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.” - Mark Twain
> One thing this phone has going for it is that it is, at its core, an Android phone. There is a chance the device itself may not be unusable after just a few years even if the company disappears. That is not the case for a comparable product like the Purism Librem 5.<p>PostmarketOS supports the Librem 5: <a href="https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices</a> and other Linux Distros have support for the Librem 5. Given how often random Android devices show up and never get supported after they are first released, I would argue the exact opposite. This phone will likely be unsupported after a few years even if the company stays around, whereas the Librem 5 will be supported even if the company goes under.
Is it just me, or has the commercial world gone weirder? Claim a product that does magic shit ("patriot communication!"), claim support from some famous person, although they can quickly deny it, and you'll probably get some suckers to pay you for the product. Or even better, investors to buy into your company.<p>Somehow the words "self-driving cars" popped into my head. Ah, the wonders of faith-based investing. On the keyword of "faith", maybe I should start selling investments to help build a palace for Jesus that he will return to, to rule the Earth ("Endorsed by 2 Popes, promise!", or I can just pay some evangelical preachers to get their mouths to actually endorse it), and if you invest, you can have an audience with Jesus!
Completely off topic, but the title reminded me of something that happened when my son was about 9yo. One day he comes in and asks me what the holes in the walls were for? Holes? What holes? So he brings me over and points at an empty phone jack. I said, "Oh! That's to plug in a phone, we don't use them." He nodded in understanding and went back to his room. A little while later he comes back with an iPhone, charge cable attached, and says, "I can't get it to work..." It was adorable. I explained that I was talking about <i>old</i> phones, like the ones at his abuela's house. He said, "Oh." and of course immediately lost interest.<p>You can see why I was reminded of it. It was, literally, an "unplugged phone mystery." I was half expecting to read a similar story. :-)
Nice find on the Unplugged <--> Liberty Phone connection. As I suspected, this is yet another example of a company looking to make a quick buck from people who want to "stick it to big tech" while hilariously trying to hide the fact they're white labeling an obscure phone made by a Chinese ODM and shipping a totally-not-AOSP fork (while claiming they're independent from Google, lol).
Worth a listen - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwK_XLFOm_I" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwK_XLFOm_I</a><p>I was captivated - went through it in one setting.
The more recent stuff is nearer the end of the podcast. (2:20 or so)
PR people claiming endorsements/appearances by public figures before the contract is agreed happens pretty often.<p>A friend recently found they were listed as a speaker at some event they had rejected a speaking gig at twice. The event people keep offering them increasingly large sums of money to show - they don't want to lose face. My guy is still saying nope.