Pixel Binary Transparency: verifiable security for Pixel devices
I love on the one side that Google takes security serious. On macOS, Windows and Linux I can easily set up a device in a way that makes it (a decent passphrase required) all but impossible for any attacker to retrieve the data on the device or modify the OS if the device is at rest. LUKS/Bitlocker/FileVault encryption and UEFI Secure Boot (x86)/SIP (Apple) make sure of that.<p>The problem is that <i>way too many</i> mobile applications these days take extraordinary difficult steps to make sure it's impossible to exercise the freedoms granted by the GPL in practice. If you "root" your phone, it's a constant game of whack-a-mole to keep banking, Netflix, Google Pay and other applications running.<p>On top of that it's <i>impossible</i> to put a new root of trust in place... I don't want a secure boot warning message if a firmware is running that <i>I</i> flashed on the device, I want it visible when <i>someone else</i> placed a manipulated firmware on it. And that point applies to Apple just as well.