Washington: US President Barack Obama, who was forced to give up his unsecured BlackBerry after his inauguration amid security concerns, is set to get his hand on the software for use in and around the White House and during presidential travel, top officials have said.
The top-secret BlackBerry 8830 is in the final stages of development by the National Security Agency (NSA), which will soon begin examining it to make sure its encryption software meets federal standards. It could be ready for use in the next few months, The Washington Times reported on Thursday.
Others expected to get secure BlackBerrys likely include top aides as well as first lady Michelle Obama.
According to the report, the software being used to secure the personal digital assistant is called SecureVoice, developed by the Genesis Key, Inc. of Washington.
"We're going to put his BlackBerry back in his hand," Steven Garrett, Genesis Key chairman, was quoted as saying by the US daily.
"With the recent foreign cybersecurity threats it is important that President has a BlackBerry that is completely secure at the top-secret level," said Gary S Elliott, Genesis' chief information assurance officer, who is a specialist in cyber warfare threats.