Obama needs to get beyond Blackberry

President Obama recently admitted his love of his Blackberry, a device he said he is still "clinging" to. Well that raised my eyebrows, a President with some desire for technology. But he may need to rethink his wireless choice.

Bill Clinton sent 2 e-mails while in office. President Bush has not e-mailed since 2001. He found it irresponsible to correspond in cyberspace. Our new President may want to think closer about this as well. There are a couple of approved devices by the US Government. They are afraid of hackers, eavesdropping, or even digital snoops. Blackberries do have encryption, but the requirements for the leader of the free world are stricter. The Blackberry encryption is not strong enough for The National Security Agency. There are a couple Windows Mobile devices approved with a heft price tag but these may be more reasonable for the President to consider using.

The National Vulnerability Database lists 14 vulnerabilities for Blackberry's. These include ways that a malicious attacker can install malware, and perhaps even crash the device. The device can become infected with spyware, texts can be stolen, e-mail intercepted. Can you imagine, someone actually stealing information from our Commander in Chief? Maybe he should consider using on of the Windows Mobile devices already approved. There is also a risk of someone tracking the coordinates of the Blackberry through its built in GPS. Bush White House aides say that security reasons prompted them to disable the GPS feature on their Blackberry's.

So Mr. President, as hard as it is for me to say, put the Blackberry down. Switch to an approved PDA that will prevent you from answering unnecessary questions about wireless data scandal and your naive love of Blackberry. Leave the Crackberry obsession with us civilians in the free world.

Welcome to The Future.

Mike