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Ask Slashdot: Managing Encrypted Android Devices In State and Local Gov't?

Posted by timothy on from the better-to-city-council-corruption dept.

An anonymous reader writes "I am a systems administrator for a mid size state agency. We currently offer Blackberries to our staff, but we are migrating to Android devices in the near future. Since phones have sensative data (email, documents, etc.), what is a good choice for encrypting that data? Options abound, like OS-level encryption from Motorola and Samsung, 3rd party apps from GoTrusted and even a LUKS port for Android. Does anyone have experience managing encrypted Android devices? What are the important features I should be looking at? Many thanks in advance." (And, for that matter, are there good options for doing the same with iPhones? Other options to consider?)

4 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Don't encrypt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the state isn't doing anything wrong, it doesn't have anything to hide.

    1. Re:Don't encrypt by masternerdguy · · Score: 5, Insightful
      It doesn't just have to do with hiding immoral actions (btw we don't even know what agency he works for -- he could be fracking parks and recreations), it also prevents tampering.

      I encrypt the disks on my computers not to hide anything, I will gladly decrypt my disk for the FBI if they ever asked, but to prevent outside tampering. Without encryption, an adversary can just load up a linux live cd and tamper with anything they want with root access. By encrypting the entire disk I can prevent that sort of tampering. They can still boot a live cd, but they can't tamper with the installed operating system or the data.

      Besides, there is a metric ton of personal information on any smart phone. How would you like Joe the Laptop Thief to get access to your Google account, or possibly even login information for your online banking?

      --
      To offset political mods, replace Flamebait with Insightful.
    2. Re:Don't encrypt by Last_Available_Usern · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What about personally identifiable information? Should SSN's be flying around unencrypted? Just because encryption is used to conceal wrongdoing doesn't mean it's always used for that purpose.

  2. Re:iPhone by bz386 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Android has builtin encryption starting with ICS.