President Obama's Blackberry Hackable? Hmm I think it would be hard but not impossible

Very cool president to be allowed to have a Blackberry, certainly tech savvy...

Kevin Mitnick, a cybercrime pioneer, claims that given the right skills, a person could hack Obama’s handheld (FoxNews.com, 2009). I don’t think you need to interview a former hacker to understand that any piece of technology can be hacked, given time, patience, perseverance, and the right skill set. Most security professionals don’t work under the assumption their networks are completely secure, just secure enough.

First, let’s look at the work-factor (time and effort) necessary to crack Obama’s Blackberry. The handheld has a special encryption package and Obama is limited in how he can use it. No IM is allowed and only a small number of people are allowed to communicate with him via email (abcnews.com, 2009). Physical access to Obama’s Blackberry is very limited, unless the hacker can break through the phalanx of Secret Service agents. I’m sure it’s on someone’s checklist to protect the Blackberry as they would anything else of national security significance. So getting to the device is extremely difficult, even if an attacker knew what to do when he or she got there.

Second, the probability of being arrested once a hack is complete is very high. Hacking into the president’s technology would call down upon the unfortunate hacker the full force of U.S. Federal law enforcement. Ask Mitnick how that worked out for him. And the Feds are much better at rooting out cybercriminals than they were in the late 20th century.

There has been speculation about whether GPS capability in the Blackberry might give away Obama’s position. However, this is easily resolved by turning the device off when the Secret Service takes the president to an undisclosed location.

The work factor and the probable consequences of hacking into the president’s Blackberry act together as a strong deterrent against all but the most motivated attacker, one who either doesn’t care if he or she is caught or is under the protection of a powerful sponsor (e.g., China or Russia).
After all this, can the device or supporting service still be hacked? Of course. However, the safeguards in place provide a reasonable and appropriate level of security while allowing the president to maintain contact with key staff at all times. In other words, security is present without preventing Obama from doing his job.

So to sum it up, should President Obama have a Blackberry? Hell Yeah!
Should he worry about security? Not for the meantime, but it is important for his security team not to become too lax.

posted by Rob Peter Verhagen @ 5:03 PM