U.S. Military Approves Android Devices Not iPhone
Posted by Jon Cilley on Wed, Dec 28, 2011
Score another win for Android. The Department of Defense (DoD) has recently announced the approval of the Dell Streak Series of Android devices, running Android 2.2 (Froyo), to be an alternative for the floundering RIM usually utilized by defense professionals. Call it a black eye for iOS and maybe the nail in the coffin for RIM, Android?s escalation to the top of the smartphone food chain has been swift and brutal to its competitors.
The problem here is Android 2.2. The military does not have a great reputation of staying ahead of the curve. The adoption of newer devices has been known to evolve its approval process slower than a shuffleboard game at a retirement home. The move to Android is no different. Sure DoD approved Android devices is great news for Google, but what they are running is a bit more concerning.
Android 2.2 was released in August 2010. Last time I checked that?s light years behind in the smartphone world. Also, they have approved Dell?s Streak series of tablets that have recently been discontinued. Is this a bad joke? It?s like giving your kid a Nintendo 64 this past Christmas and then raving about how good the 15-year-old graphics are ? the kid doesn?t buy it so why should you?
Froyo has not been maintained with current patch updates since the summer. Most current Android devices ? including the discontinued Dell Streak Series ? have upgraded to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) or beyond. Recently Bit9?released a report, regarding the vulnerabilities of the Android update ecosystem, and how the broken system prevents security patches and updates from being pushed to devices other than its Nexus models.
Android?s fragmentation is the result of its open-source nature and its update model handled by Android manufacturers. Fragmentation hurts the average user with regards to security, because more often than not Grandma is not going to manipulate Android?s source code in between bridge games to resolve security issues. Which means the average user could be left with buggy devices ? or worse ? security problems. The DoD seems to think that because of these same open-source principles, they can tinker with Android?s source code to prevent these types of issues. It?s a little bizarre. Why discontinued Dell devices? And why a year and a half old OS?
With mobile malware up 400 percent on the Android platform this past year and malicious applications finding a new home in the Android market ? you figure and hope the Pentagon knows what they are doing. They are revoking access to the Android Market and locking down specific features, but in the end, is it enough and does anyone really care??
Source: http://blog.bit9.com/bid/75400/U-S-Military-Approves-Android-Devices-Not-iPhone
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