BlackBerry’s new BB10 software has been rejected by a
British government’s Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG) as not secure
enough for sensitive government work. The most recent version of BlackBerry
software (version 7.1) passed the rigorous CESG guidelines up to ‘restricted’
status which is two levels below ‘secret.’ While they have negated the use of
the BB10 software for now, their decision could change to approve the new
platform in the future.
The UK Company’s decision comes despite BlackBerry’s efforts
to add new security measures like ‘Balance’ which partitions work, personal
data, and applications that lets users carry out encrypted communications.
Balance has won over US and German government agencies recently but this
deferral from the UK agency could put a snag in BlackBerry’s future. In response to this BlackBerry stated,” We have a long established relationship with the CESG and we remain the only mobile solution approved for use at ‘Restricted’ when configured in accordance with the CESG guidelines. “
BlackBerry has confirmed the CESG’s decision but has not offered
a revision date for software compliance. In a statement to The Guardian,
BlackBerry did say, “We are continuing to work closely with CESG on the
approval of BB10 and we’re confident that BlackBerry 10 will only strengthen
our position as the mobile solution of choice for the UK Government.”
This is a large blow to a hopeful BlackBerry who is relying
on their security based devices to win back government and corporate customers.
Apparently the problem is not as much a software issue as much as an process
issue. There is a re-structuring of the approval process due to the Government
Protective Marking scheme review and the new CESG Commercial Product Assurance
scheme which impact the BB10 timeline to receive similar levels of approvals. With
any luck the security software will be approved which will them strengthen
their position in the mobile solutions market.
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