A self-destructing smartphone may sound like something out of a James Bond film, but Boeing has made it reality.
Plans describing the mysterious Android-powered handset called "Black," filed by Boeing earlier this month with the Federal Communications Commission, surfaced Wednesday. They reveal more details about the long-rumored device, which is designed for government workers who handle sensitive information.
[seealso slug="encryption-apps/"]
In addition to employees of government agencies, the phone is being developed primarily for "companies engaged in contractual activities with those agencies that are related to defense and homeland security," Bruce Olcott, counsel to Boeing, said in a letter to the FCC (click "Request for Confidentiality") that describes the aerospace company's plans.
"The device will be marketed and sold in a manner such that low-level technical and operational information about the product will not be provided to the general public," Olcott continued.
Although relatively little is known about Boeing's Black phone, FCC records indicate that it supports two SIM cards, and works on GSM, WCDMA and LTE networks. The device also has a removable battery, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.
Olcott also revealed that the phone is programmed to self-destruct if someone tampers with it. "Any attempt to break open the casing of the device would trigger functions that would delete the data and software contained within the device, and make the device inoperable," he wrote.
Although the FCC filings shed a little more light on how the Black phone is used, the public won’t likely learn many more details about the device itself. Citing security concerns, Olcott explained to the FCC why Boeing is trying so hard to keep the Black phone’s design details under wraps.
“It is also in the public interest that the design and operational details of products that are specifically intended for use by governmental agencies and their contractors be protected from disclosure in order to ensure the continued reliability and security of such products,” he said.
Black is not the first super-secure smartphone we're seeing this year.
Earlier this week, SGP Technologies unveiled its security-focused Android-powered ”Blackphone” at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Unlike Boeing's Black, Blackphone -- which runs a custom privacy-centric version of Android -- will be available to civilians.