BlackBerry 10 gets NATO approval for restricted communications

BlackBerry has announced that BES10 and BlackBerry 10 devices have been approved by NATO to the level of "restricted". With this development, BlackBerry 10 phones become the first devices approved by NATO to this level and will allow any of the 28 member states to use BB10 devices in the field or office.Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President of Security at BlackBerry said they built the new BlackBerry 10 platform from the ground up with the highest security needs of  government and enterprise customers in mind.[caption id="attachment_1133347" align="alignright" width="380"] Blackberry Z10. AP image[/caption]"The fact that BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and BlackBerry 10 smartphones have been approved for classified communications just months after debut, is testament to the thoroughness of its design and our commitment to our defense and government customers," he added.The NATO certification is a significant milestone for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10. It provides assurance to security-conscious organisations, including government agencies, companies in regulated industries and other organisations dealing with sensitive information, that data handled by BlackBerry 10 smartphones is strongly secured and encrypted.BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 integrates end-to-end security, and uses AES 256-bit, the highest encryption level of the standard, for data at rest and data in transit.Since launching earlier this year, more than 25,000 BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 commercial and test servers have been installed globally, reflecting the clear need by companies to have a cross-platform Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution that delivers a strong level of security, control and management at the device and app level.The announcement continues to show that BlackBerry is still at the top of their game when it comes to security in both government and private sectors.