:: Re: [DNG] TALOS 2 - The Libre Owner…
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Author: Rick Moen
Date:  
To: dng
Subject: Re: [DNG] TALOS 2 - The Libre Owner Controlled POWER9 Workstation/Server
Quoting Alessandro Selli (alessandroselli@???):

> Good news indeed! The second one this week, after this worthy attempt
> by puri.sm to finally produce a smartphone designed to be 100%
> evil-software free and GNU/Linux compatible (scheduled for release in
> 2019, though):
>
> https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/


Having the i.MX6 ori.MX8 CPU 'separate' from the baseband controller (a
term on which they have not yet elaborated), but the latter remains
deeply problematic, being a proprietary black box with proprietary,
opaque firmware. (See:
http://www.osnews.com/story/27416/The_second_operating_system_hiding_in_every_mobile_phone)
The WiFi and Bluetooth chips and firmware are apparently also black
boxes. One notices, also that they say there aren't yet detailed
specifications for the simple reason that the choices of hardware
components are still up in the air.

The secret-sauce baseband controllers are a tough problem, and will
continue to cripple any real chance at smartphone security until there's
a credible open-design alternative. But fully isolating the main board
and CPU from the baseband modem subassembly -- if that's actually what
Puri.sm are going to do -- is at least half a loaf. More at:

https://blog.torproject.org/blog/mission-impossible-hardening-android-security-and-privacy
https://blog.torproject.org/blog/mission-improbable-hardening-android-security-and-privacy

(If you look closely, you'll see those are two slightly different URLs.)