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NSA Suggested Clinton Use A $4,750 Windows CE PDA (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the free-antivirus-protection dept.

An anonymous reader writes from an article on Ars Technica: When former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pushing to get a waiver allowing her to use a BlackBerry like President Barack Obama back in 2009, the National Security Agency had a very short list of devices approved for classified communications. The General Dynamics' Sectera Edge and L3 Communications' Guardian were the two devices built for the Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device (SME PED) program. They were the only devices anyone in government without an explicit security waver (like the one the president got, along with his souped-up BlackBerry 8830) could use until as recently as last year to get mobile access to top secret encrypted calls and secure e-mail. At the time Clinton was asking for a phone, only the Sectera Edge was available (the Guardian was running behind in development) and it required multiple server-side and phone-side e-mail additions, desktop synchronization software, and other supporting products. The "Executive Kit" version of the Edge, priced for government purchase at $4,750, included: Type 1 Sectera Edge (GSM or CDMA) device plus: Executive Carry Case, Leather Holster Travel Charger, Red/Black USB Cables, Vehicle Charger, Earbud, Stylus 10-pack, microSD Card with User Manual, Spare Battery, Privacy Shield 4-pack, Antivirus Software, Apriva Email Client and Perpetual Rights fee and Office Suite for Windows CE.

4 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. TWO USB Cables? by 14erCleaner · · Score: 4, Funny

    Damn, no wonder it was so expensive.

    --
    Have you read my blog lately?
    1. Re:TWO USB Cables? by Plus1Entropy · · Score: 3, Funny

      Honestly, I'd rather just have 2 phones, like a drug dealer.

      --
      Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
  2. They just hate Clinton because... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    she's a successful woman.

  3. Re:Of course! by Sarten-X · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've worked for a government contractor before.

    Yes, the toilet seat costs $5,000.

    However, every last one of the $5,000 toilet seats will be free from unknown defects, meet the 20-page list of design requirements, fit every model of toilet the government requires (including those from other contractors who won't release their proprietary contracted design spec), be constructed from US-supplied materials by US workers, and every minute of each worker's time will be properly recorded and billed, including the time spent ensuring that the time was recorded correctly, and all of those details will be documented in the truckload of paperwork that accompanies each seat.

    That truck driver also gets paid.

    --
    You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.