{"id":5119,"date":"2019-01-23T11:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ormuco.com\/?p=5119"},"modified":"2019-09-24T21:03:40","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T21:03:40","slug":"blog-blackberry-plans-improve-iot-device-security-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ormuco.com\/fr\/blog\/blackberry-plans-improve-iot-device-security-safety","title":{"rendered":"The Rebirth of Blackberry: How the Company Plans to Improve IoT Device Security and Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Concerns around IoT device security are on the rise. At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Expo (CES), BlackBerry, the mobile phone company, made an important announcement. The company is going to license its secure software framework to IoT manufacturers and developers. This announcement is timely, given the fact that about 80% of IoT devices<\/a><\/u> are not tested for security flaws. Moreover, the number of IoT devices is expected to surge to 22 billion by 2025<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

Developers need to start taking security seriously, and a prestigious company like BlackBerry becoming involved in the industry of IoT is evidence that this shift is finally occurring. In this article, we\u2019ll take a deep dive into BlackBerry’s announcement. We’ll first review the company’s history, and then look at the CES announcement. Finally, we’ll\u00a0 discuss the effects the announcement may have on the IoT device security ecosystem at large. Let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n

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BlackBerry \u2013 A Quick Overview<\/h2>\n

BlackBerry has a long history of success in the mobile market. Founded in 1999 as Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian company quickly became a leader in the world of business messaging. How did this happen? BlackBerry actually focused\u00a0 on secure communications and mobile productivity from the beginning. Major corporations and government organizations quickly adopted the BlackBerry OS. By September, 2013, there were more than 85 million BlackBerry subscribers worldwide.<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the rise of Android and iOS had a major impact on BlackBerry. The company lost its dominance in the mobile productivity and secure messaging space \u2013 and subscriber numbers had fallen to 23 million<\/a><\/u> by March, 2016, with new phone sales numbering only 200,000 in 2017<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

While the company continues to make some smartphones in a partnership with TCL and a few other manufacturers, mobile phones are no longer their focus. As of 2018, the company has shifted towards selling software and services to developers<\/a><\/u>, and on the BlackBerry Spark \u201cEnterprise of Things\u201d platform.<\/p>\n

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Refocusing and Rebranding \u2013 Blackberry Focuses on IoT Device Security at CES 2019<\/h2>\n

Given the strategic shift that BlackBerry has undergone in the last decade or so, this latest announcement is not exactly a surprise. The IoT ecosystem is rapidly expanding \u2013 and represents a potentially-enormous area of business for the company. Let\u2019s discuss their recent announcement in detail<\/a><\/u> now.<\/p>\n

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The Strategy<\/h3>\n

BlackBerry is licensing their secure software framework to IoT manufacturers. This will allow the company to bring devices to market more quickly. BlackBerry will also be able to outsource cyber security research and technology.<\/p>\n

BlackBerry will review every produced device. If it meets their security standards, it will get the \u201cBlackBerry Secure\u201d certification.<\/p>\n

Here are the three \u201cfeature packs\u201d the company is releasing for different IoT device security scenarios.<\/p>\n

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BlackBerry Secure Enablement Pack<\/h3>\n

This is BlackBerry’s first \u201cfeature pack.\u201d Here’s how it works:<\/p>\n