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Russia's New Secure Android Tablet Keeps Data From Google

Posted by timothy on from the da-ist-gut dept.

wiredmikey writes "It seems Russia's defense ministry doesn't trust Google's tablet computers: a new Android device presented to a top Russian government official boasts encryption and works with software and a global positioning system made in Russia, the AFP reports. The OS has all the functional capabilities of an Android operating system but none of its hidden features that send users' private data to Google, addressing concerns that data stored by Google could slip into the hands of the US government and expose some of their most secret and sensitive communications. Two versions of the tablet will supposedly be made — one for consumers and one for defense needs."

10 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. What about FSB? by coder111 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Right, so this tablet does keep data away from google. What about russian FSB?

    --Coder

  2. Can we get the same? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can we have an EU version, that keeps data within Europe, not like the EU version that hands all our banking data over to the USA when asked, one that respects OUR privacy?

    Sounds like a good idea to me.

    1. Re:Can we get the same? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Switzerland is not the EU. He's talking about the other EU countries among which The Netherlands which got most of the banking data handed over to the US.

      So yeah, your BS is BS.

  3. In US by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    In US all you data still belong to US!

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:In US by houghi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In Soviet Russia, the government protects your privacy.
      (Head LITERALLY explodes!)

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    2. Re:In US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They're protecting the data from Google, that doesn't mean that they aren't themselves receiving that data and more. Not that I necessarily think that's happening, although it would be expected of any government that was going out of its way to do this.

    3. Re:In US by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They're not protecting YOUR privacy. They're protecting the Russian government's privacy from Google. I don't see why anybody would be surprised by this at all. Instead, information channels keep the Russian government's central servers informed what their defense employees are doing with their phones.

      The Russian consumer grade product probably also keeps the government servers (possibly separate from the military servers to keep the civilians out of the military's business) informed about what the consumers are doing with their phones.

  4. Re:As bad as Google may be by notknown86 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It shouldn't be an either/or... Why isn't "neither" an option?

  5. Great - now we have a choice by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

    Great - now we have a choice. We can trust Google and the US government or we can trust the Russian government .. Oh wait!

  6. Re:Source code ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Will they honour their GPL obligations and make the source code available ?

    Android is licensed with Apache 2.0 mostly, so they'd only be obliged to release the source code for any kernel modifications they might have made.