Data Backup Digest

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade, you've undoubtedly heard of the iPhone. What you might not be aware of, however, is it's highly secretive counterpart, meant specifically for modern day spies. The phone, dubbed the Blackphone 2, was developed and manufactured by a company known as Silent Circle. If you're looking at the device as some sort of novelty, or if you plan on using it to setup surveillance of your own, you might want to think twice. At a selling point of $799, the phone is anything but a novelty.

Despite the advanced nature of the Blackphone 2, the Android-based operating system, known as Silent OS, is actually quite user-friendly and accessible. The basic Blackphone 2 comes equipped with 32 gigabytes of internal storage, 3 gigabytes of RAM, an octa-core processor and a rather generous 13-megapixel camera.

Origins

If you're already well-versed in the espionage industry, you may have heard of the original Blackphone. Pioneered by SGP Technologies, a subsidiary of Silent Circle, SGP Technologies was founded as a joint venture between Silent Circle and the developers of GeeksPhone. The original Blackphone began shipping June 2014. Just like with most other technology, however, an update was bound to be released. The Blackphone 2 was introduced in September 2015, just a little over a year later.

Primary Features

As one would expect, the primary features of the Blackphone 2 revolve around user privacy and data security. For starters, every single call made via the Blackphone 2 is encrypted through Silent Circle's private cloud network. Even if someone was able to track and monitor your calling history, they still wouldn't be able to listen to your actual conversations.

Secondly, any data stored within your phone is also encrypted. This safeguards all of your information, including contacts, pictures and any other data, safe from prying eyes or malicious hands. The Blackphone 2 also lets you setup various "spaces", up to four on one phone, which can be used to store different settings, data, apps and passwords that are related to the environments you're in. For example, one space could be setup for your home, another for your workplace and so on. These spaces can even be removed, either locally or remotely, if needed.

Bill Conner, current president and CEO of Silent Circle, spoke about the need for a product like the Blackphone 2 in today's market. He was quoted as saying: "People and enterprises want to take back control of their privacy but too often they don’t know how, or they feel they must compromise too much - that’s why the time is right for Blackphone 2."

One notable feature that sets the Blackphone 2 apart from the original Blackphone is the integration of the device's text messaging and voice services. While the original Blackphone contained separate systems for handling each type of interaction, Silent Text and Silent Phone, the Blackphone 2 is able to process both texts and voice through an upgraded version of the Silent Phone app.

While this is certainly not a hack-proof device by any means, it is currently miles ahead of its competition. For more information on the Silent Circle Blackphone 2, please visit their official website at www.silentcircle.com.