Apple and Samsung Devices May Increase Security Concerns for Pentagon

By: Zain Nabi  |   May 16th, 2013   |   Android, Apple, News, O Canada, Smartphones, Tablets

Although the Pentagon has given its staff the approval to use devices manufactured by companies other than Canadian-based BlackBerry, some independent security analysts fear that the Defense Department stands exposed to security threats if Apple and Samsung devices are used by its staff.

 

Previously, the Pentagon staff only used to have BlackBerry devices, but recently the department allowed its staff to use products from other companies. Apple and Samsung being the leaders in the smartphone markets considered this a good opportunity to further expand their customer base and take place of BlackBerry in one more domain.

 

BlackBerry seems to have been struggling of late in retaining let alone increasing its customer base, and the permission from the Pentagon to use other devices seemed like a dent to the Canadian-based company’s prospects. However, many analysts are of the view that BlackBerry is still the best when it comes to ensuring secure communication. Bloomberg quoted Pat McGarry, principal systems engineer at Ixia, a network security company based in Calabasas, California, as saying about using Apple and Samsung products by the Pentagon staff:

 

“It is a debacle, a disaster waiting to happen.”

 

Pentagon wants to establish a multi-vendor environment that is why it has given clearance to more than one company. Earlier, Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a Pentagon spokesman, had said:

 

“We are working towards establishing a multi-vendor environment that supports a variety of devices and operating systems, to include Samsung, Apple and BlackBerry. A key objective of the plan is to establish a department-wide mobile enterprise solution that permits the use of the latest commercial technology such, as smartphones and tablets.”

 

This goes to show that even though some security analysts are a bit concerned about the Defense Department’s decision, it might not hurt the reputation of Apple and Samsung because the department itself took quite a lot of time to research before clearing these devices. Meanwhile, it has also been expected that since these devices have received clearance from the Pentagon, other industries might also welcome the companies.

 

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