Mobile phones are becoming a headache for the security-minded. Data files are usually not encrypted, and phones are easily lost--in cars, at bars, and everywhere else. Communications over Wi-Fi can be intercepted. In short, mobility is vulnerability.
The Guardian Project is an open source endeavor that hopes to improve security for users of the open source Android operating system popular on mobile phones (and increasingly, tablets).
Guardian's plan is to create custom, open source applications and firmware for Android phones with built-in security savvy. Already several applications are available for download:
- Orbot: Browse the Web anonymously by routing your traffic through a peer-to-peer network.
- Gibberbot: Encrypted instant messaging.
Planned applications include Remote Data Wipe, to erase data from a mobile phone across the network in case it is lost or stolen, and encrypted text messaging.
Development and source code for the Guardian Project available here.