When it comes to smartphone security, there is a reason why governments and companies around the world still choose BlackBerry. However with BlackBerry turning to Android with the BlackBerry Priv, the question is can they still maintain their security despite going with a different operating system?
For those worried about BlackBerry losing their edge, fret not because the Canadian company has detailed how they plan on securing the Priv in their latest blog post. For starters, the company will rely on the Hardware Root of Trust, which according to them is “a unique manufacturing process that injects cryptographic keys into the device hardware, providing a secure foundation for the entire platform.”
They will also use verified boot and secure bootchain which basically uses the embedded keys to verify every layer of the device, ranging from hardware to the operating system and to the apps running on the phone, thus ensuring that none of them have been tampered with that might otherwise compromise its security and privacy.
There will also be of course the use of BlackBerry’s infrastructure that helps transmit encrypted data, and access to BES12 which companies can use if they want to manage the phones of their employees. These are just some of the methods BlackBerry will be employing to ensure the Priv is secure, but whether or not it will be remains to be seen but hopefully it will.
The company’s CEO John Chen did promise that they would only release an Android phone if they could secure it, so hopefully this means that they have.
Filed in . Read more about Android, BlackBerry, Blackberry Priv, Privacy and Security.
