UK Edition
Ministry of Defence may switch to iPhone 7 for secure conversations
The Ministry of Defence could start using secured iPhone 7 handsets for its sensitive communications, according to BT which is making the device.
The defence agency has reportedly contracted BT to design a military-grade version of the iPhone that personnel can use to discuss and store sensitive information.
Hardened security on the handsets will let the military choose between different modes, such as "classified" and "sensitive" when communicating with one another. The MoD iPhone 7 will also come with "secure storage containers" where information can be stored.
"We've been working very closely with them to develop what we've commonly called a 'dual-persona device'," Steve Bunn, technical business manager for defence at BT, told Tech Republic. "Essentially this means you can have voice at official and at secret."
Reports suggest the MoD was initially going to use Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phones, but ruled out the Android device for not being safe or popular enough. Instead, it has opted for Apple's latest devices for their heightened in-built security and popularity among employees at the agency.
Work on the Note 4 was "going very well", Bunn said, "but as more and more development and testing was done, the security associated it wasn't deemed to be sufficient, so that's why we moved to the iPhone."
"BT can confirm that it is working on the development of dual-persona devices with Mobile Device Management (MDM) capabilities," a spokesman for BT said.
"We would like to clarify that the MoD has not expressed any views about the suitability of dual-persona technology from specific handset or technology vendors and is prototyping a range of devices."
Android devices have long been the handsets of choice for defence and intelligence agencies around the world, but recently more have been adopting iPhones.
Although the US National Security Agency uses a Samsung Galaxy for its hardened phones, the US Army recently ditched Android for the iPhone because they're faster. The Special Operations division swapped its glitchy "Android Tactical Assault Kit" for an iPhone 6s after the former kept freezing.
Not shying away from new technologies for security reasons, the MoD last year announced that it was moving its computing from the secure military network it has used for the last decade to data centres owned by Microsoft.