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diff --git a/markdown/2013_11_fairphone.md b/markdown/2013_11_fairphone.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f0be5a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/markdown/2013_11_fairphone.md @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +tags: Replicant news, Fairphone, Paul Kocialkowski +date: 2013-11-25 16:45 +title: About the Fairphone +--- +Over the past months, we have been asked a lot whether Replicant is going to +be running on the [Fairphone][1]. The goal behind [Fairphone][1], as its name +suggests, is to build a phone that is “fair”. This covers a lot of different +aspects that the [Fairphone][1] company took care of: such topics as using +fair and conflict-free resources, ensuring that all workers along the supply +chain get a fair wage, improving the handling of electronic waste, being +transparent about the cost of each part of the device, its technical +specifications and encouraging open and flexible designs. +We are really glad to see a company producing electronic devices taking care +of such many important aspects as social conditions of workers, ecology and +handling of e-waste as well as transparency and being “technically open”. + +What we are especially interested in, at the Replicant project, is how good +the device will be when it comes to software freedom. Hence, we have spent +some time investigating the device, even though it is not out yet. Thanks to +the cooperation of [Fairphone][1], we were able to draw a quite complete +picture of it. + +The [Fairphone][1] will ship with a modified Android 4.2 version. An overlay +interface was developed for the device and should be released as free +software, but what we are really interested in is the parts that deal with the +hardware. First, the Linux kernel source code for the device will be released +(it is copyleft software so this is an obligation). It will also be possible +to build the kernel from source and install it on the device without the need +to sign the kernel with the manufacturer’s key. Actually, there should be no +signature check on the [Fairphone][1] for the kernel or the bootloaders. Some +of the bootloaders (maybe all of them; we cannot tell for sure at this point) +are free software and it should be able to replace them with a free build. We +are a bit worried that the tools to flash the [Fairphone][1] may be +proprietary, but if the bootloaders are free and/or there is root access out +of the box, there will be ways to work around this problem. On the system +side, some of the libraries that deal with the hardware have been released as +free software for devices that use the same platform (Mediatek 6589), so the +basic required features such as audio will likely work. We are also confident +we will be able to handle the modem with free software (that means telephony +and such will work). +[Fairphone][1] is really trying hard to get Mediatek to release as many +components as free software as possible, but they don’t have the source in +their own hands and nor can they decide to make it free software themselves, +so it may take some time to arrive or eventually not succeed. + +However, things are not looking so good when it comes to evaluating the +platform that was chosen for the [Fairphone][1]: the modem is embedded in the +System on a Chip (SoC) which leads us to believe that it is poorly isolated +from the rest of the platform and could access critical components such as +storage, RAM, GPS and audio (microphone) of the device. If this was to be the +case (we can only speculate about what the truth actually is), it would mean +that the [Fairphone][1] is fatally flawed for security as it makes it possible +for the phone to be converted to a remote spying device. + +In conclusion, we think it will be possible to have Replicant working on the +[Fairphone][1] and the bootloaders (that are not part of the operating system) +may even be free software, but we believe it is seriously compromised +security-wise because of the poor modem isolation. +However, [Fairphone][1] seems definitely interested in doing things right on +the software freedom side and helping us get Replicant running on the device! + + [1]: <http://www.fairphone.com/> + + |