The National Security Agency (NSA) have developed an ultra-secure Android phone built using off-the-shelf parts which will allow the US government to discuss "top secret" materials. 100 of the Fishbowl phones were developed, and released, to government staff.

The new NSA Android-based phones are built by the NSA's 40-year-old Information Assurance Directorate, who are responsible for providing secure communications to the US government, including the Department of Defence. The division's head, Margaret Salter, has said that anyone could reproduce the phone using specifications posted online, because it uses off-the-shelf components.

Salter adds:

The plan was to buy commercial components, layer them together and get a secure solution. It uses solely commercial infrastructure to protect classified data.

Salter adds that she would previously "speak in code" if she was using a commercial mobile device, when she was discussing classified information. Users can install defence applications on the device from an enterprise app store which is run by the US Defence Information Systems Agency. This ensures that only secure applications were installed, and remove the need for NSA staff to worry about the integrity of third-party applications.

You can read more on the device, here.