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> A Navy spokesman said Naval and Marine personnel who use government issued smart devices are generally allowed to use popular commercial apps, including commo

by ralfd 7y ago

> A Navy spokesman said Naval and Marine personnel who use government issued smart devices are generally allowed to use popular commercial apps, including common social media apps, but from time to time specific programs that present security threats are banned. Should the Navy whitelist Ebay and Amazon? What about the Walmart app? If Target has one should they then apply to get whitelisted? What about navy personal in other countries with their apps? What about popular app/game xyz? There are a million apps? If all that has to be whitelisted the buerocratic overhead would be either really cumbersome or the value of an issued device so small, that people would buy and use their own devices anyways.

beatgammit 7y ago
Do they need those apps to carry out their duties? If not, that should remain on personal devices and left in a secure location while on duty. There have been too many incidents of apps like Strava publishing locations that it's just not worth missing something important.
choward 7y ago
All the "apps" you mentioned should just be well designed web sites. No reason for an app.
- jomoio 7y ago
  Good point, we'll get the Navy right on that.
  - bdcravens 7y ago
    The point is that if you argue a soldier shouldn't have Target or Amazon on their phone, it's pointless, as they still have Safari or Chrome.
    - braythwayt 7y ago
      I'm not sure that's a complete argument. If you're arguing that soldiers shouldn't do business with Target or Amazon on their mobile device, blocking an app won't get the job done, agreed. But if the argument for blocking the app has to do with untrusted native code running on a device used for military purposes, the surface area of a browser is much smaller than the surface area of a plethora of native apps.
threatofrain 7y ago
This is a work phone and people should have an extra cell phone for personal uses, and when they're at a government job with sensitive information they should be using their work phone. People who don't work with sensitive information or interesting responsibilities can use whatever phone they want if they don't mind totally forfeiting their privacy. But eBay? Amazon? Walmart? Popular apps and games? Sure, get those whitelisted. Or are we thinking about maximizing the value proposition of a work phone at a government job?
cheschire 7y ago
> the bureaucratic overhead would be either really cumbersome or the value of <insert service> so small... Oh, I see you are already familiar with how the U.S. government operates.

by ralfd 7y ago

beatgammit 7y ago

Do they need those apps to carry out their duties? If not, that should remain on personal devices and left in a secure location while on duty. There have been too many incidents of apps like Strava publishing locations that it's just not worth missing something important.

choward 7y ago

All the "apps" you mentioned should just be well designed web sites. No reason for an app.

jomoio 7y ago
Good point, we'll get the Navy right on that.
- bdcravens 7y ago
  The point is that if you argue a soldier shouldn't have Target or Amazon on their phone, it's pointless, as they still have Safari or Chrome.
  - braythwayt 7y ago
    I'm not sure that's a complete argument. If you're arguing that soldiers shouldn't do business with Target or Amazon on their mobile device, blocking an app won't get the job done, agreed. But if the argument for blocking the app has to do with untrusted native code running on a device used for military purposes, the surface area of a browser is much smaller than the surface area of a plethora of native apps.

threatofrain 7y ago

This is a work phone and people should have an extra cell phone for personal uses, and when they're at a government job with sensitive information they should be using their work phone. People who don't work with sensitive information or interesting responsibilities can use whatever phone they want if they don't mind totally forfeiting their privacy. But eBay? Amazon? Walmart? Popular apps and games? Sure, get those whitelisted. Or are we thinking about maximizing the value proposition of a work phone at a government job?

cheschire 7y ago

> the bureaucratic overhead would be either really cumbersome or the value of <insert service> so small... Oh, I see you are already familiar with how the U.S. government operates.