Mobile security firm Ziklag Systems has launched Fortress Fone, a smartphone pre-loaded with a hardened version of the Android operating system to protect enterprises and users from attacks.
Some organizations just can’t take the chance of data being exposed on employee mobile devices. Some environments are sensitive enough that all phone calls and text messages need to be encrypted. In some cases, the only way to completely secure the infrastructure is to deploy mobile devices that have been hardened and customized to be hacker-proof.
Ziklag Systems believes that its new Fortress Fone, a Samsung Galaxy smartphone running a hardened version of the Android operating system, will bring secure mobile devices to the enterprise. The government has been experimenting with customized secure phones for the past few years. The Fortress Fone aims to protect enterprise users with on all three levels—the hardware, operating system, and all the applications running on the device, Ziklag said.
Fortress Fone “renders voice and data transmissions virtually impenetrable,” said Stephen Bryen, CEO of Ziklag.
The key feature of Fortress Fone is the hardened kernel to make the operating system practically hack-proof and built-in government-level encryption to protect all data and voice transmissions on the device, the company said.
The team completely replaced the existing Android kernel with one designed internally by Ziklag. The new kernel controls all the sensors, radios, cameras and microphones, USB port, flash memory and other high-risk elements inside the smartphone.
Ziklag uses a secure key management system for its Fortress Fone. Each phone is equipped with a removable security token which stores the encryption key, Bryen told SecurityWeek. The token works with a specially designed app to secure the phone.
Since the enterprise manages the key within its own infrastructure, there is no risk of a man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept the key or other kinds of cryptographic attacks, Bryen said. Along with 256-bit AES encryption, Ziklag implements the NSA-defined standards for securing mobile devices.
When a customer gets the Fortress Fone, everything is already installed and configured. The handset is already loaded with the hardened kernel and operating system, and all necessary modifications have already been made in the laboratory, Bryen said. Ziklag also pre-installs the secure SD card, which stores the encryption key and is approved under the NSA Common Criteria program, prior to shipping the handset.
Currently, the Fortress Fone is available only on Samsung Galaxy handsets, the company said.
Intended for the enterprise, the Fortress Fone is designed specifically to work with the Fortress Core Access Protection System (CAPSS). The organization sets up CAPSS as a secure cloud and all phone calls, whether they are between the computer to mobile device, or mobile-to-mobile, are handled by the system, Bryen said.
Users can make Fortress Fone calls only to other users with Fortress Fones, or to users who desktops and laptops are connected to CAPSS. Since CAPSS is acting as the backbone of all calls using the secure system, all voice and data transmissions are encrypted and protected, Ziklag said.
Organizations can also store large files and multi-media content in CAPSS so that users can access the content without trying to download them locally to the handset.
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