Tag: mobile security technology

The approval has given the smartphone manufacturer’s efforts to recover its glory a boost in the right direction.

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) will allow customers to use Blackberry’s mobile security software to manage devices on the agency’s network that are powered by iOS and Android.

BlackBerry is positioning itself as the mobile market leader in security technology for big businesses and governments.

Recently, Blackberry Limited acquired Secusmart GmbH, a German mobile security company, to enhance its security offerings for enterprise patrons. This led to BlackBerry CEO John Chen telling employees that it is now time to focus on boosting sales from the new device and software launch, which was a positive and welcome change from company layoffs.

The company, which is based out of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, announced that customers of the U.S. DoD that are BlackBerry users and/or who use smartphones or tablets that run iOS or Android and are linked to the BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) 10 technology, are now authorized to send each other sensitive information.

BlackBerry stated that “The (Security Technical Implementation Guide) approval provides additional confidence for government agencies considering a more open mobile environment with a selection of devices and operating systems.”

Blackberry has high hopes that its next generation mobile security software, BES12, will give it a leg up over the competition.

Businesses and governments utilize supposed mobile device management software to manage smartphone security and software that enterprise customers oversee or issue for their staff. BlackBerry has several competitors in his field, such as Citrix Systems Inc. Airwatch (owned by VMware Inc.), International Business Machines Corp., and MobileIron Inc.

BES12 will be launched by BlackBerry near the end of 2014 and the company is betting on this mobile management software to give them the edge they need over their competition. So far, according to Chen, the feedback the company has received from testers of the technology has been positive. Chen stated that six customers in North America and Europe were testing the tech and that an additional six would begin testing in July.

According to a spokeswoman from the company, the DoD’s approval for BES10 does not include BES12. Each version of the mobile security technology is approved separately.

The government has given their approval to the BB10 operating system for running on Defense Department networks.

BlackBerry’s ongoing battle to make its way back into profitability received a notable boost in recent news, as the handset manufacturer’s BlackBerry 10 operating system received the mobile security green light for running on Defense Department networks.

The “full operational capacity” (FOC) designation has now been granted to the BB10 OS.

The Defense Information Systems Agency granted the FOC designation that showed that the mobile security levels were satisfactory for the department’s requirements. That agency is responsible for much of the push for the DoD toward mobility. This makes the company the first one to receive this FOC, and follows on the heels of an announcement made last August, which indicated that the authority would be operating its BlackBerry Q10 and Z10 smartphones with the management solution from BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.

This mobile security approval allows government users to access a number of DoD network resources via smartphones.

Because the FOC has now been granted, it means that government users who have mobile devices based on BlackBerry 10 can remain connected with the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. This allows them to securely obtain access to apps, email, information, and other network resources from the Department of Defense. This, according to a recent news release from the Canadian handset manufacturer.

That company was also the first to receive Assurance to Operate (ATO) from the Department of Defense, and is now the only vendor that has achieved FOC. Now that it has received this new designation, it means that BlackBerry’s DoD mobile security certification process has finally been completed. This has been a lengthy effort that the manufacturer has been determined to achieve.

BlackBerry has long been associated with very highly secured hardware and software products and it has been working with the Department of Defense in the United States for several years. This positive news of its certification has come at a time in which the company has been making a number of strategic moves to recreate itself and return to its former level of profitability.