[Aug0211]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if I might get some insight from all of you other addicts out there! This post might be too long, so I added CLIFFS AT THE BOTTOM!

I am a first time BB owner with the 9530 on Verizon. I've learned to love my phone with OS updates and patience

Anyway, I am beginning a research project on the BlackBerry OS Security. My research will cover a bit of history/background of the BB (to show the corporate usage and thus, the need for a secure device), a section on the BB OS security features implemented by RIM, and 3rd party apps and their security implications.

I have looked a lot (and found a good bit) on the RIM OS security that has been built in, but I know some of you may know specific topics/keywords/features that I should be focusing on. I'm not all that familiar with the BB or its OS, so I figure some of you power-users ought to know more about it than me. I am somewhat familiar with OS principles, and experienced with Java so I will understand that stuff for the most part. I only have 3 months of experience with a BB device, but I am fairly confident that I can keep up with most of what's out there. Consider this research as being geared towards an OS savvy audience.

So far, topics I am considering researching more are:

1. Locking feature - password protection, auto-timeout, etc.
2. Permissions selection (for applications)
3. I am thinking that the JVM that RIM runs on their devices is custom designed, thus harder to create malware to run on a BB?
4. I am thinking that RIM has limited access in the API's to potentially sensitive data (messages, etc) to make it harder to gain access to it
5. RIM's .cod extension/proprietary compiler makes it impossible (I think?) to decompile "source" files (.cods) to see their contents and manipulate them
6. Anything you guys recommend/bring up

What do you guys think? I'm not asking you to do my research for me - I just know there are some pretty cool things out there that this OS does, and I also know that I don't know enough about it (yet), to know what some of the hidden gems of it are. I'm looking for ideas from the CB community to get me going!

Third party apps I'm considering discussing are:

1. PatternLock
2. SafeGuard
3. Smart Guard
4. RobLock
5. BerryLocator
6. GetItBack
7. Anything you guys suggest...

I'd love to hear about any more third party apps or ideas you all think should be included in my paper.

If you've had the patience to read through this entire post, I thank you and appreciate your patience! If you would like to discuss any of this in more detail, or want clarity on the direction I want to take with this project, PM me and I'll give you my PIN I'd love insight from everyone!

If you DON'T have the patience OR TIME to read this entire post, consider my cliffs below:

• Computer science student, 1st time BB owner
• Researching BlackBerry Operating System Security
• Research geared to technical/OS savvy audience
• Looking for ideas/features/etc that should be included in research
• Both things native in OS done by RIM, and nice 3rd party apps that help with security
• NOT looking for someone to do my work at all - just looking for nice ideas out there before I finish my research
• Some of my thinking points are listed above
• Thanks!

[Aug0211]

I'll be the first contributer to my own thread

-> Consideration of backup encryption through BBDM should be considered.
-Would need to know what type of encryption is used.

[Aug0211]

Another addition:
IT Policies. Don't know much about these, I'm a BIS user, not BES...

[savioAMG]

Another addition:
IT Policies. Don't know much about these, I'm a BIS user, not BES...

If you use BIS, you don't have to worry about IT Policies.

You strike me as the type of person that would like to learn about it anyways, so here's a link to the BlackBerry site that explains it... It's actually quite interesting, IMO.

[Aug0211]

Thanks a lot, AMG.

I know I don't have to worry about IT Policies, since I'm BIS. But it still seems like a pretty important OS Security feature. I the more I read about this (thanks for the link!), the more I think this should be a topic I research more.

There is also a lot of good info on that page. I had found it before, but was unable to locate it again (I know, how ridiculous it that - it's right on the BB site lol). Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

Keep the input coming!