iPhones And iPads Poised To Win Key Pentagon Security Nod Next Week

Apple, within days, is set to finish clearing two safety hurdles that had kept the iPhone and iPad out of fingers’ way in the Defense Department and some civilian agencies.

The Pentagon is expected to approve a Defensewide guide on Tuesday for the secure use of iPhone 4s, iPad2, iPad Mini, and later devices based on the company's iOS operating system. And, already, on Friday, the National Institute of Standards and Technology announced the iPhone and iPad have earned a long sought-after governmentwide encryption certification.

A spokeswoman for the Defense Information Systems Agency, which evaluates military mobile security guidelines, told Nextgov that according to Mark Orndorff, DISA's chief information assurance executive and program executive officer for mission assurance and NetOps, "The decision is now internal to DISA for approval, and is expected to take place in the next week.”