JBC-P, Smartphones, and Security

Smartphones are in the Future...

The military hopes this kind of technology can be prevalent for every soldier in the field. During a bloggers roundtable last month, Lt. Gen. Michael Vane said he thought the idea of every soldier carrying around a smartphone for tactical operations made a lot of sense.

"Though many people are already suggesting that that's a possibility. Even I have said there's a long-term vision here that would say if we can figure out the smart cost-beneficial way of doing this, this probably does make sense in the long run," Vane said.

"Using the Mobile /Handheld CE Product Developers Kit, we're going to allow the third-party developers to actually develop capabilities that aren't stovepiped," said Lt. Col. Mark Daniels, product manager for JBC-P. "That's going to allow us to be interoperable across the entire family of systems of JBC-P, which would include the platforms, the aviation, the logistics community, the tanks, the Bradleys, the handhelds."

The Mobile /Handheld CE development kit will be released in July of this year. The Army is uncertain whether or not a commercial made phone or government off the shelf model is more appropriate. Regardless, the Army says, the software development kit will be designed for a variety of Android based systems.

The military already has test subjects lined up. The Army says soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 1St Armored Division will try them out the Network Integration Rehearsal at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., The Army expects the program to launch officially in 2013.

Part of this initiative comes from the fact that America's military enemies are already using cell phones successfully Vane said.

"One of the most significant feedbacks you get from Soldiers in theater is they look at their Afghan army compatriots or the Taliban guy, who has a cell phone, and then the Army guy looks at his MBITR or his 117G radio and we want to deny that capability to our own Soldiers even through the enemy is using them?" Vane said to the bloggers roundtable.

There are other possibilities and advantages smartphones can provide in the battlefield, aside from tactical. Army vice chief of staff, General Peter Chiarelli, pointed at injuries as one specific area where smartphones would be helpful.

"I saw the ability when a soldier is wounded to take a picture of the wound and to pass that to the doctors, so that medics can make sure that they are treating the soldier in the appropriate way, given the wound that he has received. So there are many, many applications of this," Chiarelli said.

DARPA looking to improve security on Smartphones

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has published a presolicitation titled Automated Program Analysis for Cybersecurity (APAC). Reading the announcement it describes a tool or set of tools that allows for the analysis of Android apps being submitted to DoD Android-based mobile application marketplaces for malicious code prior to making it available for download. Further evidence of the governments continued acceptance of the Android platform.

One of the biggest concerns when talking about smartphones and similar devices for military and government use is security. Most people seem to assume that it’s not being addressed and that the government is just going to use the same off the shelf phones and apps the general public uses. Of course you see the comment streams with the usual snarky jokes about hacking etc. accomplishing nothing more that showing their own ignorance.

PCTI), a leader in antenna and scanning receiver solutions, announced that it had signed a Development Agreement and a separate Supply Agreement for a PCTEL-branded, Android cell phone that will host its ProsettaCore™ solution for thwarting various threats to cell phone security. The company did not disclose the Original Development Manufacturer (ODM) supplying the phones for competitive reasons.

PCTEL Secure, a joint venture owned by PCTEL and Eclipse Design Technologies, Inc. is focused on the delivery of security solutions for Android platforms, specifically products that are required by military and government personnel as well as those in commercial segments with special security needs.

The company plans to deliver early prototypes of the secure product in the fourth quarter of this year.

Because PCTEL Secure will utilize COTS hardware, emergency forces or defense contractors will be able to acquire smartphones from local sources and quickly upgrade them using PCTEL Secure’s robust, secure Web-based infrastructure, by simply inserting specialized SD cards directly into the phone, or through a customized process.

PCTEL Secure intends to offer devices based on popular commercial smartphone platforms as well as field-tested ruggedized smartphone platforms suitable for industrial, law enforcement, and military uses in more demanding environmental conditions.