Mr. Obama's BlackBery

Technology, security, and the government of the United States. It is interesting to me that a man who used technology so well in his campaign to become president should find himself limited in the use of technology.

Yet that would seem to be the case. The President finely got the OK to use a Blackberry but it will have limits on who can have e-mail access and no GPS capabilities. It turns out that all e-mails must be saved for security reasons, privet e-mail accounts might get hacked, and as far as the GPS goes the fewer people who know exactly where the president is the better.

Mr. Obama’s security is more important than the ability to remain accessible to the people. Take a look at this from   http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Obama's new Blackberry: Speculation mounts over details of President's smartphone

Details of the spy-proof smartphone that Barack Obama is believed to have been given to replace his cherished BlackBerry have emerged.

 

By Ben Leach 
Last Updated: 8:37PM GMT 25 Jan 2009

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Barack Obama joked that aides would have to pry his BlackBerry from his hands Photo: AP

President Obama, a self-confessed BlackBerry addict, famously said that administrators would have to "pry it from my hands" after becoming inaugurated.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said the buzz about Obama's BlackBerry replacement is "almost as exciting as the presidential dog".

He is to be given a secure, souped-up, high-tech personal digital assistant (PDA), fully loaded with encryption devised by the National Security Agency (NSA), which gathers intelligence from cyberspace.

There is speculation that the President will carry a Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics, the military contractor, and developed specially for the NSA.

The Sectera Edge is a heavy-duty, highly secure mobile phone, one of the few certified by National Security Agency for top-secret government usage.

It was developed under a Defense Department project called SME-PED or Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device. It costs around £2,400.

The device can switch from an ordinary PDA to a secure communications device at the touch of a button and its screen turns red when used in classified mode to signal that it can communicate only with similar handsets.

The Sectera Edge also includes the option to "exchange secure e-mail with government personnel". It will not be possible to forward presidential e-mails to third parties.

There had been security fears about terrorist hackers being able to pinpoint the president's location. By law, all but the most personal e-mails will be stored in the National Archives.