New Zealand Frontline Police Get Apple Devices in Efficiency Measure 114
mask.of.sanity writes "Thousands of New Zealand frontline police will be armed with smartphones and tablets from this year in an efficiency initiative that the force hopes will save millions of dollars. NZ Police say the devices are Apple iPhones and iPads. These will be password protected and can be wiped remotely if lost. Police declined to say if the devices and their communications will be encrypted."
Setting up for iFailure (Score:1)
nice SPOF Apple is setting up, hack Apple and get the keys to every castle in every land !
Re: (Score:1, Interesting)
And how is this different from the zillions of successful hacks against the dominant Windows world for laptops, or Android world for smartphones? Both of those platforms, widely used, have been successfully hacked.
Seems to me the absence of successful hacks against iOS (given the millions of iPhones/iPads out there) is in many respects prima-facie evidence that it's actualy a hard (harder) platform to hack. The same argument, but with lesser market share, can be made for Mac OS X products.
dave
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So what you're saying that police, who are regularly in dangerous and physical situations will NEVER drop their device, nor criminals will NEVER get their hands on one?
Not one with thunderbolt OR firewire, neither of which iOS devices have.
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Nice troll.
First, the very tool you link says it can attack machines running Windows, OS X, or Linux.
Second, here's the "mitigation" section from your link:
Attack mitigation
To stay safe and protect against FireWire DMA attacks, here’s a couple of suggestions:
Windows
* Block the SBP-2 driver
* Remove FireWire drivers from your system if you don’t need to use FireWire
OS X
* Don’t panic – if you are using FileVault2 and OS X Lion (10.7.2) and higher, the OS will automatically turn off DMA when locked – you’re still vulnerable to attacks when unlocked, though
* Set a firmware password
Linux
* Disable DMA or remove the 1394 drivers (see the ‘Mitigation: Linux’ section)
On a Mac, the normal steps to protect your machine from unauthorized access (even just setting a firmware password) also blocks the attack vector.
And on Windows or Linux, you have to manually break Firewire and Thunderbolt entirely to work around
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
So let us know when all the Android devices being sold in China running gingerbread can be updated.
Or any trusted source in China to install from.
And please point out one malware virus on iOS.
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Good point.
But that wasn't actually a malware virus. It was a proof of concept.
Unlike the hundreds of in-the-wild viruses on Android.
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Unlike the hundreds of in-the-wild viruses on Android.
Citation needed? Further clarification, Google play or something else?
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Can you get google play in China? No, so what are the millions of Android users supposed to do?
You know, when they get something like this:
http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240159261/New-Android-virus-hits-100K-devices-in-China [computerweekly.com]
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Really? Where can you get official updates in China? At all, much less in a timely manner.
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and sorry my iOS buddies, apple products in China are also compromised. Its just that the Apple machine in China wants everybody to think that they are safe. Why would the government want to let the people who have the money or the "need" for an iPhone or Pad think their device was completely secure? Gee, hmmm, I wonder??
Re:Setting up for iFailure (Score:5, Informative)
There's always malware on any operating system, including IOS. While Apple does a good job at preventing it, they can't prevent it 100% of the time. Here are a few articles talking about malware on iOS for those who think it doesn't exist.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adriankingsleyhughes/2012/07/06/first-ios-malware-hits-app-store/ [forbes.com]
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2012/08/29/finfisher-malware-goes-mobile-infects-android-iphone-blackberry/ [thenextweb.com]
http://www.redmondpie.com/another-malware-app-sneaks-into-ios-app-store/ [redmondpie.com]
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/238101/scitech/hacker-reveals-ios-malware-vulnerability-gets-punished [gmanetwork.com]
http://www.techpluto.com/ios-malware/ [techpluto.com]
Re:Setting up for iFailure (Score:5, Informative)
Number of malware that came through the App Store - ie non-jailbroken phones - One.
Charlie Fisher's proof of concept. Which wasn't actual malware.
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Android devices can be updated regularly, and are. The only, ONLY time you see stories about malware viruses and other crap like that, for both iOS and Android, is when people install apps from untrusted sources.
Bullshit, there have been plenty of reports of malware in the google play store, and malware infections from web surfing.
Re:Setting up for iFailure (Score:4, Funny)
And how is this different from the zillions of successful hacks against the dominant Windows world for laptops, or Android world for smartphones?
Becasue by using Apple devices you join the Sith....
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Harder to hack?
You realize any device with root or "jailbreak" has already been hacked, right? That's a privilege escalation hack (you do not have administrator access on these devices, period).
Besides, there have been at least one successful AND publicized hack by Charlie Miller, so get your facts straight. Do remember, the only reason that this hack even came to light is because Charlie actually came out and said so. Imagine the millions of users blindly accepting facts as you have, while running aroun
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http://www.pcworld.com/article/202335/iPhone_Jailbreaking_is_a_snap_thanks_to_New_Website.html [pcworld.com]
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Large entity? It's the New Zealand police. The only reason there's two of them is that the Cook Strait is a bugger to swim across.
Save millions... (Score:4, Funny)
By buying a ton of most expensive hardware you can find.... brilliant.
Re: (Score:1, Interesting)
It's all about the software, including iOS security (see my previous post on this thread.) And the Apple hardware isn't that much more expensive -for similar devices-.
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It has nothing to do with security. They want a consistent product across the board. If they were still using Windows XP laptops mounted on an arm in the car like 95% of police departments in the US have, they could have the same level of data security relatively cheap if they wanted it. They may or may not have chosen to make them secure but that was their own bueacracy at work.
Better in no ways (Score:3, Informative)
Better in most regards (all?),
It has much less software, and a worse screen.
NFC and a "barometer" are useless to police.
And what about support? Apple has extensive worldwide support. Can you honestly say the same for Google hardware (hint: NO).
You are just not thinking about the total package here.
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Wow, you are grasping at straws here man. A local police department does not care about worldwide support. They are not worldwide, they need support where they are right now and they can get that from any number of different companies. Aside from that. Many companies have worldwide support but they have different SKU, policies, and warranties depending on what country the device was sold. Try to get HP tp replace a 600GB SATA drive in an HP DL380 you purchased in the US that is now housed in the UK. I
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It has much less software, and a worse screen.
Deployments like this tend to lock out all software but what's been specifically written to be deployed for the police. The consumer ecosystem is irrelevant.
In what way is the screen worse? The Nexus resolution is better, the brightness, colors, and viewing angles are good in all top-brand models, not just these.
NFC and a "barometer" are useless to police.
NFC may or may not be, depending on how they set up their infrastructure. But the point is that the availability of more hardware at a lower price speaks against the raw purchased value of Apple'
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Deployments like this tend to lock out all software but what's been specifically written to be deployed for the police. The consumer ecosystem is irrelevant.
Being able to chose from a wider range of consumer software to deploy does not.
In what way is the screen worse? The Nexus resolution is better
Widescreen is not as useful for document based work.
NFC may or may not be, depending on how they set up their infrastructure.
Since there is NO NFC infrastructure currently, the answer is "not". NFC does nothing f
Re:Save millions... (Score:5, Insightful)
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I'm assuming they'd put them into something like an Otter Box [otterbox.com] -- which should pretty much make them ruggedized enough.
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By contrast, for example, police radios can be dropped into puddles, thrown, kicked, etc. and they still work fine.
No, you can't. If you drop them from about knee height into a shallow puddle they might survive, particularly if they land on one bottom corner or on their backs - although you'll probably need to replace the battery.
If they land square on the bottom of the radio, you'll smash the battery clips.
If they land on the top, you'll smash the aerial socket and volume control (the latter frequently taking a chunk off the board).
If they land on their faces, you'll smash the screen and punch the speaker magnet throu
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This is all Motorola TETRA kit I'm talking about here. It's pretty fragile stuff.
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You have no idea how fragile safety-critical systems really are. They function solely on the basis that disruption is generally localized and real-time disruption is less of a problem than a 2-3 minute window or 1-2 hour window depending on the function. Older radios were more robust than current generations, but still far from bulletproof. Current generation equipment much less so... but there are more channels to get information out which often offsets the liability. (Radio + cell via two completely d
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And by equipping front-line personnel with the most fragile peice of telecommunications equipment in the world!
Have they changed their mind and went with the Samsung Galaxy S III? https://www.google.com/search?rls=en&q=iphone+5+drop+test [google.com]
Re:Save millions... (Score:5, Insightful)
Every time some school teachers or government workers in the U.S. want the latest tech toy, they pull that same "It will save money, improve efficiency, improve the quality of our work" shit too. I've yet to see it ever do ANY of those things. Not even once.
At least private industry can just say "We're giving it to our workers as a personal perk" and be honest about it.
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It'd be very interesting (Score:2, Troll)
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Depends on what they had before ... if the answer is "radios" (and no computers of any kind) then it's fairly obvious how joining the 21st century could help them. Or if - like our locals here - they were still driving around with large 19" monitors in their patrol cars and the hardware to drive such a monitor (both power and data) ... that's fairly obvious too. All depends on what they were using before.
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you;d be surprised at the requirements of the cop on the street. He doesn't really want a flash and fragile device so that management can send him emails and reports and forms. He wants a radio that he can use "percussively assist" in the apprehension of criminals, and not have to take his eyes off the surrounding area to use. See, most cops want to watch the suspect as they radio in for a check, they do not want to swipe away pressing buttons and using a tiny keyboard with their fat gloved fingers, while t
TROLL? (Score:2)
C'mon!
Encryption (Score:3, Insightful)
"Police declined to say if the devices and their communications will be encrypted."
In other words, they aren't. Otherwise, which reason would the police to not tell?
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If I was a betting man, I'd agree with you, but when it comes to security procedures, even if there is encryption, I see no reason to detail the security arrangements to the public unless I had to.
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So, security through obscurity?
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Like radio traffic.
In other words, they are (Score:3)
In other words, they aren't. Otherwise, which reason would the police to not tell?
It's not the police declining to say, it's the ignorant article writers declining to research.
All recent Apple iOS devices are encrypted by default. That's how the remote wipe works quickly, it just tosses the key for the whole device.
The communications being encrypted is the more important issue.
Not sure if it'll work? (Score:5, Funny)
I'm sure it'd hurt like hell getting hit in the head by an iPhone a cop threw but wouldn't it be cheaper to arm them with pointed sticks?
Re:Not sure if it'll work? (Score:5, Funny)
They have to use sticks with rounded corners now.
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They have to use sticks with rounded corners now.
They have to send their sticks to Apple, then buy them back as iSticks. They're the same sticks, but they're not allowed to use them without paying Apple first.
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They have to use sticks with rounded corners now.
Yeah, they call them "baton".
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ibatonu
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wouldn't it be cheaper to arm them with pointed sticks?
Pointed sticks? Ho, ho, ho. We want to learn how to defend ourselves against pointed sticks, do we? Getting all high and mighty, eh? Fresh fruit not good enough for you, eh? Well I'll tell you something my lad. When you're walking home tonight and some great homicidal maniac comes after you with a bunch of Apple products, don't come crying to me!
Now, the passion fruit.
Blinded By the Rage again? (Score:4, Insightful)
Apple employees will be remotely wiping the devices when names of friends show up on searches / arrest lists.
You don't know how the remote wipes work, do you? That's not possible nor would it even help if you spent one second thinking about how police would use the devices.
This will NOT end well.
Not for Apple Haters, no. Because more the despised Apple products are showing deep value again.
How the hell can they say it will save costs when they chose the most abhorrently expensive devices to start with
Curious how a device can be "abhorrently" expensive. It sure seems like you have some deep emotional issues you're bringing to the table there.
iOS devices are a LITTLE more expensive. But for instance, what if they needed cell capability? What other "less abhorrent" tablet with baked in cellular support would they buy pray-tell?
And what about support? What other tablet has the level of support Apple offers in that region?
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hrmmm.. (Score:3, Interesting)
So they will "save millions of dollars" by spending how much exactly? I'm sure it adds up if you use the new math.
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It's never about saving money compared to history, it's about saving money compared to a strawman.
I did violate standards and skim the article, but it looks like 4.3 million Zealandbucks of toys that will allegedly allow them to cut hours to their staff and (not counting the original buy in) achieve a 12 year net savings of ~140 million Zealandbucks.
I expect the NZcops will continue to use exactly as much billable time as they have now.
Freeze! (Score:3)
I've got an angry bird and I'm not afraid to use him!
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the pigs win
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that was the pun i was going for
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I've got an angry bird and I'm not afraid to use him!
No, you throw the birds *at* the pigs.
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Valid point. I helped the local public safety and pd departments deploy "MDT"s nearly 10 years ago. Some of the original equipment is still in use and AFAIK nearly all of it was retired in upgrades, not because of failure. They are rugged, actually somewhat indestructible. They have hardware and software interfaces tailored to the unique demands of an officer in the field and are well proven.
Using flashy consumer grade tech toys in the field sounds like an uninformed executive's special recipe for failur
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Consumer grade tech is much cheaper and far more readily available... While the devices may break more often, replacements and spare parts are easily acquired when necessary.
The cheaper cost and more rapid replacement also makes it easier to upgrade to newer devices in the future, rather than being stuck with ancient legacy devices that cannot easily adapt to changing needs and end up being resented by the people who use them.
Also, employees are far more likely to already be familiar with consumer devices,
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Consumer grade tech is much cheaper and far more readily available... While the devices may break more often, replacements and spare parts are easily acquired when necessary.
We're talking about field equipment used by law enforcement here. An officer in pursuit of a suspect, responding to an emergency, etc is not going to just pop into the local best buy and replace critical equipment.
The cheaper cost and more rapid replacement also makes it easier to upgrade to newer devices in the future, rather than being stuck with ancient legacy devices that cannot easily adapt to changing needs and end up being resented by the people who use them.
I'm not sure what the origin of this straw man is, but the officers I work with are quite happy with the devices currently in use. They have access to a wide variety of county and state services, with new capabilities being added quite often. For instance, they recently added the ability to do a
Sounds good, hopefully (Score:2)
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mobile bandwidth problems are not a myth, they are real for the end users. The actual problem might not be limited spectrum or a technology deficiency and maybe a carrier refusing to spend money to expand or upgrade but that does not change the fact that there is still a problem.
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The cellular connection is never the only link; many police cars have wifi repeaters from the radio links, as well as voice communication over the radio...
why did they spend if it didn't work (Score:2)
Those sorts of contracts should be done in a phased rollout where they pay a bit then roll out some stuff and test it and then pay for it. There's no reason to be locked in for millions for a system that doesn't work.
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But that's how the NZ government works, they are already trapped in a decade long contract for a web based payroll system for teachers that still fails abysmally after 6 years of development and 6 months of use.
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Novopay is the name of this particular kind of evil.
The Meat and Potatoes: (Score:1)
MOD UP (Score:2)
Good grief, after wading through all the virulent apple-haterism we find really practical reasons why they went with iOS devices all the way down here at the bottom - software, and the fact that the full range of iOS devices come with cellular data support.
It probably doesn't hurt that they also have a wider range of choices for durable protective cases.
Maps? (Score:4, Funny)
Let's hope they don't need the maps [slashdot.org] feature!
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And where is the key stored?
My iphone has a password, and when i boot it up it starts connecting to my mail servers in the background before i unlock the screen so it clearly has whatever keys it needs to decrypt the data accessible on the device...
I would be much happier if it was unable to boot at all until a key had been entered, such that the key was never stored on the device.
in other news (Score:1)
And what of auto-correct? (Score:2)
This actually makes sense. (Score:1)
This is the sort of thing a tablet is perfect for-- content consumption. In an otterbox it's plenty durable, the batter
We do have Newspapers in New Zealand (Score:1)
Using a foreign Australian newspaper for a New Zealand story is about the same as using a Mexican newspaper to report on an issue in the U.S.
The New Zealand newspaper of record is the New Zealnd Herald which carried this story 3 weeks agao (when it was topical) - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10776556 [nzherald.co.nz]
Oh! and sweet as bro.
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The cops here were already arrogant... (Score:2)
I can't even imagine how bad they will be when they all have iTrinkets and think they are even more superior and untouchable.