Mobile Computing at USSOCOM

The Numbers

• iTunes– 10 billion songs sold– 15 billion apps downloaded

The Numbers

• 8 trillion text messages will be sent in 2011• 300,000 mobile apps have been developed in three

years• 1 in 4 mobile apps once downloaded are never used

again.

The Numbers

• There are 5.3 billion mobile subscribers (that's 77 percent of the world population).

• Half a billion people accessed mobile Internet worldwide in 2009. Usage is expected to double within five years as mobile overtakes the PC.

• Many mobile Web users are mobile-only, i.e. they very rarely use a desktop to access the Web. US 25% users are mobile-only.

• High-speed mobile networks - almost one in five subscribers have access to fast mobile (3G or better).

The Numbers

• 101 million smartphones were sold in 2010-Q4, versus 92 million PCs.

• Smartphone shipments, grew 87% year over year, while PCs only grew 3%.

• One in two Americans will have a smartphone by Christmas of 2011, compared to just one in 10 in the summer of 2008.

Is it a phone or a computing device?

Mobile applications

• Stand alone App• Enterprise App• Stand alone then

download App

Mobile applications

• Kill Al-Qaeda App• Different Missions =

Different Apps• Tools• Force multiplier

Mobile applications

• How do we make operators life easier?

• Not just another brick to carry

• Save weight• Save money• Save time• Do more

Mobile applications

• Tracking via Cell phone– 33% of women

would track their spouse

– 31% of men would track their spouse

• Military tracking– Good and Bad

Mobile applications

• Comms:– Team Comm App– Call for Fire App

• Biometrics:– Collect biometrics during

execution– Facial recognition

• Enterprise:– Remote Device Wipe App– Pictures, video, network

analysis– Blue Force Tracker– Civil Affairs

• Stand- alone:– SATCOM alignment App– Explosive Calculation

App– Basic GPS App– Kindle-like, pdfs

• Tech manuals, FMs, SOPs• Medical docs

• Utilities:– PowerPoint Viewer App– PDF Viewer App

Unclassified to Classified

• Full Motion Video• 3D Training Manual App• Weapons Capability App• Team Chat App • Team VTC App• Translation App • Laser Range Finder App• Radio Over IP (ROIP) App • Frequency Management • Team (VOIP)

• Merck Manual App• Sniper Ranging App• Disaster Recovery App• Littoral Tide App • CBRN App• Text App • Building Material

Calculator App (for construction)

• Divemaster App• Targeting App• SOF “Facebook”

Social Media• Helicopter hovering above

Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).

• A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S

• Go away helicopter - before I take out my giant swatter :-/

• seems like my giant swatter worked !

• Since taliban (probably) don't have helicpoters, and since they're saying it was not "ours", so must be a complicated situation

• The abbottabad helicopter/UFO was shot down near the Bilal Town area, and there's report of a flash. People saying it could be a drone.

• people are saying it was not a technical fault and it was shot down. I heard it CIRCLE 3-4 times above, sounded purposeful.

• Two helicpoters, one down, could actually be the training accident scenario they're saying it was >>

Social Media

Social Media

• Twitter• Facebook• Facebook for SOF?

Roadmap

• Environment I – Unclassified data over commercial Network

• Environment II – Secret and below over Commercial Network

• Environment III – Secret and below over SOF Network

Challenges

• Bandwidth– DC is OK, but Africa, South Asia….

• Acquisition model– Production– 2 yr lifecycle – Hopefully!

• IA, IA , IA (Devices, Apps, Network)• Configuration Management• It is all about the Data!

Information Assurance

• Hardened OS?• Hardened Devices? • Or COTS?

OS - Configuration Management

Microsoft• XP – Oct 2001• Vista – Jan 2007• W7 - Jul 2009

Android 1.0 – Sept 2008• 1.1 – Feb 2009• 1.5 – Apr 2009• 1.6 – Sept 2009• 2.0 – Oct 2009• 2.2 – May 2010• 2.3 – Dec 2010• 3.0 – Feb 2011• 4.0 - Now

Mobile OS Share

45.4

13.7

15.3

20.9

4.7

2015

AndroidBlackBerry OSiOSWindows PhoneOthers

39.5

14.915.7

5.5

24.4

2011

AndroidBlackBerry OSiOSWindows PhoneOthers

Devices - Configuration Management

• iPhone – Jan 2007• iPhone 3g – Jun 2008• iPhone 3GS – Jun 2009• iPhone 4 – Jun 2010• iPhone 4S – Oct 2011• iPad 1 – Apr 2010• iPad 2 - Mar 2011

• 33 HTC Android Devices in 3 years

Takeaways

• Fast moving – less than 2 year lifecycle– “Only constant is change”

• Not your Grandfathers desktop– Production model = change

• Configuration Management nightmare

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The Future?