CES 2011: BlackBerry PlayBook PM Ryan Bidan (VIDEO)

[...] by Ronen HalevyWant to meet the project manager behind the BlackBerry PlayBook at RIM? Doug over at Inside BlackBerry managed to get 5 minutes with Ryan Bidan, the PlayBook project manager, to ask him about how the [...]

[...] up today, and RIM posted up one final video about the BlackBerry PlayBook on their official blog, Inside BlackBerry. The video is with Product Manager Ryan Bidan who handled the BlackBerry PlayBook. Ryan answers [...]

It’s ironic – and comical – that I cannot watch this video on my Blackberry 9700, even though I can stream youtube without issue.

Glad to hear there will be a native mail app and all that! Sounds exciting guys, as soon as they are available for pee-order, I will have my order placed!

I cant wait!!!! Can I get one in hand NOW!!!!

Glad you answered those questions because people were freaking out that it was not going to have email support other then using BlackBerry Bridge!

Glad you answered those questions because people were freaking out that it was not going to have email support other then using BlackBerry Bridge!

[...] Source ] [...]

I can see the video in my torch. Please make an effort to make these videos available to BB browsers.

Some serious questions RIM, Douglas maybe you can hep get someone to answer these.

1. I have just listened to an amazing POD cast by Steve Gibson and Leo Leport on Security Now who is a very smart person when it come to security and how things work together. URL to the Pod Cast http://twit.tv/sn280 This whole episode is on how Bluetooth works and that it is not that secure. It is just a matter of time before we start transmitting information over Bluetooth that bad guys want! Currently there is not enough demand to get people into hacking it yet but as soon as they do it is very easy to crack. With that in mind how does RIM protect my PIM data when its being transfered from one device to the other? I know Bridging requires a Bluetooth connection using a new Bluetooth profile I’m assuming will be called BBB for BlackBerry Bridge, from what I have heard they could crack this pairing and listen to the data being transmitted back and forth but the real question is does the PlayBook and my device still encrypt traffic so that even though it is being listened to it’s encrypted traffic and therefor data stream it is useless? Don’t get me wrong Bluetooth is encrypted itself with 128 encryption and is secure but the RFC shows how convoluted the generation of the private key is for that encryption and was not designed the best. So I just want to know (and other) that my data is still encrypted using standards that RIM currently uses when sending data through my carrier?

2. What prevents someone from using their own PlayBook, grabbing my device while I’m not looking and stupid me I left it unlocked and pairing my BlackBerry to their PlayBook and seeing my messages? What kind of security surrounds this process? After you scan the 2D bar code do you need to type in your password before the data can be transmitted. I know people hate this type in your password stuff but I am just curious how RIM is going to secure this so some rogue person cannot watch what I am doing.

[...] standalone secure e-mail capabilities on its own, hopefully along with some proper BES support. A recent video from RIM certainly indicates that smartphone-independent PIM apps would become available “as the [...]

Love to see the video on my phone PLEASE

[...] PlayBook, BlackBerry Bridge, BlackBerry PlayBook Apps, and more in this Q&A session with Inside BlackBerry from CES 2011…google_ad_client = "pub-4883726997960274"; /* 300×250, created 11/6/10 */ [...]

Good to see someone from Blackberry talking about Playbook.

[...] manager, ryan bidan.Comments: View Comments tweetmeme_style='compact'; View Comments YouTube linkInside BlackBerry sat down with the PlayBook Product Manager Ryan Bidan to talk about some of the questions users have been asking about the PlayBook. Some interesting [...]

Love to see any answer from these question.

Bluetooth is terrible insecure. The functionality of having the devices auto pair in range means that BT must be enabled on both devices all the time. This leaves the devices open to battery drain at least and BT sniffing / spoofing at most.

Caspan, Physical access is impossible for software to get rid of. If someone has your device long enough to pair their playbook with your blackberry you loose. If someone had access to our server rack for long enough they could get access to our whole network aswell. Physical access is the users responsibility.

I want the PlayBook, my whole office wants the PlayBook. I just now see that you are limiting it to Sprint. This is crazy. BB has EXISTING customers that want its product and you are intentionally ignoring their needs and pairing with a sinle phone service provider. I have held off on my business purchasing tablets just because of this. However, Sprint has terrible service in our area, so I guess I need to just go with a different tablet. If I do, I am leaving BB all together, never to return. This is outrageous and a slap in the face to customers that have stuck with BB for YEARS!!!

Is it true, BB PlayBook will only be on Sprint? Thanks for sticking it to the rest of your BB users!!!
If this is true, I will soon be going to Andriod!!!

I want the playbook now, when is it going tobe released in Canada and nobody wants sprint so please please get it with our providers.

since when would you leave the BT wide open? any device like this (or say a car stereo) you have have a pin entered on both devices to make them pair.

Just because its on sprint doesnt mean you cant get one… I could go get an iPad at AT&T right? The first playbook models are wifi only – so it will not need a contract from sprint.

I just wanted to clarify the announcement around the exclusive partnership with Sprint on the BlackBerry 4G PlayBook. The 4G PlayBook is planned for a summer 2011 release on the Sprint network. There is also a WiFi version, which will be available during Q1 of this year. We have not yet announced distribution channels for the WiFi version, but stay tuned! We are really excited to offer a 4G version as well because we know customers are looking for this technology.

Caspan, great questions.

For #1, yes you are absolutely right, Bluetooth on its own doesn’t provide the security we need. We have applied our own secure protocol overtop of the Bluetooth connection for BlackBerry Bridge. The best part is that it’s the same hardened protocol we have been using in our Smart Card readers for years now. If you aren’t familiar with the Smart Card reader, it’s a government approved peripheral we developed here at RIM and is trusted by many agencies around the world. We are proud to be able to use this technology to secure the data shared between PlayBook and the BlackBerry handheld. If you are still curious, check out this page on our Smart Card reader: http://us.blackberry.com/ataglance/security/products/smartcardreader.

For #2, I think someone else answered it nicely. It’s really the same thing as someone grabbing your unlocked BlackBerry while you are out at a restaurant, how can we stop that? Physical security is really up to the end user. We try to help with security timeouts and IT Policies, but in the end it falls on the end users shoulders.

See my answer above. There will be multiple variants of PlayBook available for everyone to enjoy.

@Agorski, Not sure what you need to do with your blackberry playbook, but if your business is using it with their blackberries they can always tether it to their phones. I’m actually anxiously awaiting the Wi-Fi only blackberry playbook so that I can tether it with my blackberry and not have to pay additional monies for a data plan with sprint. Just a thought, perhaps your business needs are different though.

@Static you are talking simple level of that security I am talking about Bluetooth in general listen to the pod cast and you will see what I am talking about. This is hacking not just end users forgetting to tighten up their security.

Thank you Ryan for the answers that was exactly the answer I was hoping for. I also asked it because a few people I have heard mention “it wont be secure because it’s using Bluetooth” and my argument was that RIM cannot be silly enough to not encrypt their traffic this is not RIMs first rodeo!

As for point 2 I agree in what you are saying about if you leave it unlocked then it is a good as what is protecting it (which is nothing if I leave it unlocked) But I know even in App World you can force a user to type in their password (if security is set) to install a app. Will BlackBerry Bridge do the same and before it pairs it require the password of the device that way even if I left it unlocked a bad guy can’t monitor my data?

Thanks Ryan

Just so everyone knows there is also a second podcast up about this hacking Bluetooth. Again this is not to show how weak a BlackBerry is for using it but that the world around us is not as secure as we would hope it to be. From Ryan’s answer below it matters nothing because RIM encrypts the data so even it if was over heard its encrypted. It just goes to show RIM puts security first when they use a medium. Awesome RIM!!!

http://twit.tv/sn283 Hacking Bluetooth

“The functionality of having the devices auto pair in range means that BT must be enabled on both devices all the time” This is incorrect to an extent. Yes Bluetooth must be turned on but does not have to be discoverable which is a big difference. Bluetooth security 101 never make your device discoverable unless your about to pair it then turn off discoverability. Just like wifi If you want to use it well then yes it has to be turned on but that is not why it is insecure. Listen to the podcast this is not just kiddie stuff you have to know what you are doing to hack this.

[...] In one of RIM’s recent videos demoing their upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, product manager Ryan Bidan asserted that even without a smartphone to Bridge it to (thus enabling [...]

As someone who plans on buying a tablet this year, and a current BB owner, I’m excited to learn more about the BB Bridge feature. If I understand it correctly, as long as my phone is within range, I’ll be able to use my tablet’s Bridge feature. As I was thinking about that, I realized that there is never a time during my day that my BB isn’t within arm’s reach. I really hope that the Playbook has an affordable price.

Adios amigo!!!

so tired of waiting!!!!! quite talking and strat producing

When will the Playbook be available in South Africa….

Does anyone know if there is ever going to be playbook,IPAD or whatever that can be used as a phone also,so 2 costs don’t need to be incurred

ww

[...] interviewed Ryan Bidan at CES 2011 in January to answer questions Inside BlackBerry readers had about the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. [...]