• The President Reveals He Isn't Allowed to Use Apple's iPhone because of Security Risks

    by
    Akshay Masand
    Published on 2013-12-05 11:37 AM
    56 Comments Comments


    According to SecurityWeek, President Barack Obama recently admitted to a group of White House visitors that BlackBerry is the only device certified to be used in his post; the Secret Service doesn’t allow him to use Apple’s iPhone for security reasons. Obama said the following regarding the matter at an event promoting his health care initiative:

    I'm not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone.
    He added that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, are iPhone users who spend a lot of their time using their devices.

    It should be noted that before he assumed office in 2009, Obama was regarded as the most tech-savvy president to date. A large part of the description came from his adoption of mobile technology like BlackBerry, which he fought to keep against the wishes of the Secret Service. As highlighted in a Washington Post report from the month of September, presidents tend to quickly fall behind the times when it comes to modern technology. With computer technology moving at a rapid pace, proven government security measures cannot be installed fast enough to allow for the same flexibility afforded by the everyday consumer.

    For those of you who didn’t already know, BlackBerry is known to have solid security and was the go-to device for the US government before the rise of the iPhone but with the proliferation of Apple’s handset and those running Google’s Android operating system, things have changed. Apple’s iOS 6 was granted FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 level 1 validation, allowing certain government agencies to adopt specialized devices running the software. The low-level cryptographic certification gives Apple a foot in the door for government contracts, like Department of Defense employees but still limits the iPhone and iPad use to security clearance levels well below assigned to the President.

    Although it’s unlikely that President Obama will be able to use the iPhone during his remaining tenure, he has been seen carrying other Apple devices on occasion including the third-gen iPad and a 15-inch MacBook Pro.

    Source: SecurityWeek, Washington Post via AppleInsider
    This article was originally published in forum thread: The President Reveals He Isn't Allowed to Use Apple's iPhone because of Security Risks started by Akshay Masand View original post
    1. Categories:
    2. iPhone,
    3. iOS,
    4. Apple
    Comments 56 Comments
    1. edoutmax's Avatar
      edoutmax - 2013-12-05, 12:55 PM
      iPhones are not secure, WOW, what a shocker
    1. thazsar's Avatar
      thazsar - 2013-12-05, 12:58 PM
      So what does he use? A flip phone? Maybe a Nokia 8120? I've got it, a blackberry; so, that's why they went bankrupt!

      Freakin, Obama... Everything he touches turns to crap! LOL!
    1. TheOrioles33's Avatar
      TheOrioles33 - 2013-12-05, 01:48 PM
      I feel bad for anyone forced to use a Blackberry.
    1. RandyTG's Avatar
      RandyTG - 2013-12-05, 02:07 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by edoutmax View Post
      iPhones are not secure, WOW, what a shocker
      They ARE secure, just not secure enough for Presidential use.
    1. novadam's Avatar
      novadam - 2013-12-05, 02:10 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by thazsar View Post
      So what does he use? A flip phone? Maybe a Nokia 8120? I've got it, a blackberry; so, that's why they went bankrupt!

      Freakin, Obama... Everything he touches turns to crap! LOL!
      true that! (except for the economy, two wars, iran's nuclear aspirations, the hunt for OBL, women's rights, gay rights, college students who need loans, and the 18% of this country who don't have health insurance. everything else? CRAP).
    1. Scotty Manley Silberhorn's Avatar
      Scotty Manley Silberhorn - 2013-12-05, 02:37 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by novadam View Post
      true that! (except for the economy, two wars, iran's nuclear aspirations, the hunt for OBL, women's rights, gay rights, college students who need loans, and the 18% of this country who don't have health insurance. everything else? CRAP).
      +1. I work 3 jobs, none of them offer health insurance and since I'm under the age of 26, the affordable care act allows me to stay under my parent's insurance until I can find a job that does offer health care.
    1. tridley68's Avatar
      tridley68 - 2013-12-05, 02:47 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by RandyTG View Post
      They ARE secure, just not secure enough for Presidential use.


      Freakin, Obama... Everything he touches turns to crap must be a real slow news day for Modmyi to post this garbage like anyone really cares maybe the next big story will be what type of toilet paper he uses or maybe he doesn't?
    1. luvmytj's Avatar
      luvmytj - 2013-12-05, 02:48 PM
      With the US government tapping billions of phones around the world none are secure.
    1. NewD's Avatar
      NewD - 2013-12-05, 03:09 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Scotty Manley Silberhorn View Post
      +1. I work 3 jobs, none of them offer health insurance and since I'm under the age of 26, the affordable care act allows me to stay under my parent's insurance until I can find a job that does offer health care.
      With upwards of $6300/year deductible you have to satisfy, even on Doctor visit costs - most people will never get a single claim paid under the Obamacare plans. But children staying on parent's plans until 26 and coverage for pre existing conditions were both in Republican plans for healthcare reform too. They're just sensible reforms everyone agrees on.

      It's the single payor thing that is income redistribution at its core and will bankrupt the nation eventually too.. as they'll never get the signups they need to fund it. I predict full Obamacare collapse by mid-late 2014. His presidency has been a colossal failure.

      And for the record - it's unelected activist judges that have advanced the extreme gay rights agenda - thwarting the will of the people at every turn. And binLaden would have been taken down by any president that were elected in '08. All the groundwork had been done under Bush. It was only a matter of time.

      I appreciate that he's kept most of the Bush era foreign policy measures in place.. But then he goes around everywhere apologizing for bad America.. What a foolish thing to do as Iran gets closer and closer to a bomb.

      Well - rant over.. Glad his daughters can use iPhones..
    1. bigboyz's Avatar
      bigboyz - 2013-12-05, 04:02 PM
      Yeah..in articles and meetings on TV i've seen the BB in his hand or on the table. BB is about to be extinc..what then?
    1. MrLingerLonger's Avatar
      MrLingerLonger - 2013-12-05, 04:22 PM
      I don't want him using a iPhone because he will jinx the company. He is horrible! Everything he touches just goes to hell
    1. Silverado1987's Avatar
      Silverado1987 - 2013-12-05, 04:44 PM
      Lol they only use blackberries because there the only ONE who uses them lol
    1. nicrfe's Avatar
      nicrfe - 2013-12-05, 05:18 PM
      Good. He should get an iphone. Just another distraction from his job. You know running the country. He is doing such a crappy job so far they should take away his blackberry also. Put him in time out. Impeach him.
    1. gotmuscle's Avatar
      gotmuscle - 2013-12-05, 05:33 PM
      Well if they would make an iPhone with our a camera, I can almost bet more defense contractors would allow them. It's not really the operating systems it's the freakin camera's. I have first hand knowledge of this. Just don't get why I can't special order a iPhone with no camera. Stupid.
    1. crackertime's Avatar
      crackertime - 2013-12-05, 05:42 PM
      I am not from the US, but I hadn't heard that US citizens were going to have to pay upwards of 500 dollars a month in deductibles for their health care. Weird to find it out on a technology forum. If you have a link to an article about it destinyx, that would be great.
    1. WHUDS's Avatar
      WHUDS - 2013-12-05, 06:17 PM
      Its BS if the President wanted an Iphone it would happen. This is just an excuse he doesn't care
    1. djaquapimp's Avatar
      djaquapimp - 2013-12-05, 06:58 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by NewdestinyX View Post
      It's the single payor thing that is income redistribution at its core and will bankrupt the nation eventually too.. as they'll never get the signups they need to fund it. I predict full Obamacare collapse by mid-late 2014. His presidency has been a colossal failure.
      Lol this quote here tells me you don't know what you are talking about. We do not have a "single payer" system in America. It is far from that! LMAO!
    1. NewD's Avatar
      NewD - 2013-12-05, 07:29 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by djaquapimp View Post
      Lol this quote here tells me you don't know what you are talking about. We do not have a "single payer" system in America. It is far from that! LMAO!
      I am well aware of the differences. But it's what the Libs have wanted for a long time. And what they've created in the ACA has its ultimate goal in single-payer. And there is indeed a "single-payer" that people who sign up for the ACA will be getting. Don't be fooled by the term "exchanges". The exchanges themselves are funded nearly in full by the federal government, "single" payer - Of course, made up of our tax dollars. Do your homework… And Wise up. If you didn't understand the subtlety in my calling it "single-payer", you clearly haven't done your homework.
    1. novadam's Avatar
      novadam - 2013-12-05, 07:35 PM
      what are you talking about? the exchange is simply a marketplace on which to shop for policies from private, for-profit insurance companies.
    1. Iteh_skyss's Avatar
      Iteh_skyss - 2013-12-05, 08:27 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by tridley68 View Post
      Freakin, Obama... Everything he touches turns to crap must be a real slow news day for Modmyi to post this garbage like anyone really cares maybe the next big story will be what type of toilet paper he uses or maybe he doesn't?
      This IS an iPhone blog and this is related to iPhones and other apple devices.. No ones forcing you to come here
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