Abstract: A virtualizing and obfuscating communications firmware module may be incorporated into common, mass-market portable computing devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to provide this service. The disclosure encompasses authentication and obfuscation software components that may comprise trusted firmware whose operation is protected from the main portable device operating system that is assumed to be hostile (e.g. infiltrated with malware or under the control of a remote attacker). In certain embodiments, a single-chip design is disclosed, without any specialized hardware: only the primary portable device applications microprocessor may be used by both the main operating system and the virtualizing and obfuscating communications firmware module. The operating system may operates as if it has access to a real communications peripheral, but in reality the virtualizing and obfuscating communications firmware module virtualizes this peripheral.