With more than 1.8 billion smartphones expected to be in use by 2013, the security of these and other digital devices are of critical concern to national security and global commerce.

A team at the National Security Agency Information Assurance Directorate (NSA/IAD) has made a signifcant contribution to maintaining that security with their patented Method of Tampering Detection for Digital Devices, or AutoBerry.

The scanning software can quickly detect anomalies by extracting application and operating system files and comparing the results to a known good baseline. This “finger-printing,” combined with AutoBerry’s alert system that indicates level of risk associated with various anomalies, allows administrators, security personnel and other users to either quickly get the device back in use or, if compromised by tampering or other malicious activity, seek additional forensics support and remediation. The scan takes only 5 to 17 minutes depending on the device—a dramatic decrease from the 1.5 hours typically required for a manual security check—and requires minimal technical training.

The scan takes only 5 to 17 minutes depending on the device—a dramatic decrease from the 1.5 hours typically required for a manual security check—and requires minimal technical training.

AutoBerry was developed in 2006 and first used with the BlackBerry, then the predominant mobile device used throughout government. Not only was AutoBerry included in the Defense Information Systems Agency Security Technical Guide (DISA STIG) in 2008, federal agencies not mandated by STIG also began incorporating it into their guidelines, compounding its impact across government. At the time of transfer, more than 250,000 users at every level of government relied on it to maintain the integrity of their digital devices.

AutoBerry was transferred to Fixmo, Inc. in 2010, just three months after the company learned of the technology. Since then, Fixmo has launched three products, including Sentinel, its flagship product for government users, which offers enhanced AutoBerry features for BlackBerry, Android, iOS and Good devices, and which is marketed to industry as Sentinel Desktop; Sentinel Enterprise, an enterprise solution and expansion of Sentinel Desktop; and Sentinel Server Compliance Check, which audits, corrects and confirms server configuration. Fixmo anticipates $25 million in revenue in 2012 and has already applied for three additional patents for Sentinel-related technology.