Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) Working On UK Security Approval For BB10 [UPDATED]

Readers can see the updated statement at the end of this article.

Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s software- for the new Blackberry 10 did not meet the standard of the British government, which declared that the system lacks security features for the performance of critical work, according to a report from the Guardian.

The Canadian smartphone manufacturer’s previous Blackberry 7.1 met the requirements of the Computer Experts Security Group (CESG) of the British government last year. The CESG classified the software as “restricted,” which is two levels below the top classification – “secret.”

According to the report, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) confirmed that its Blackberry 10 and Blackberry Balance software have not passed the CESG requirements. The company did not provide an exact date as to when it will submit an update for the software to pass the CESG security classifications.

In a statement, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) emphasized that Blackberry is the only mobile solution approved for use as “restricted” in compliance with the CESG guideline. In addition, the Canadian smartphone manufacturer pointed out that it has a “long-established relationship” with the agency.

The company acknowledged that the level of approval for the devices comes with a rigorous process, which is necessary because of the highly confidential nature of the communications being transmitted.

“The current restructuring of this approval process, due to the Government Protective Marking Scheme review and the new CESG Commercial Product Assurance scheme has an impact on the timeline for BlackBerry 10 to receive a similar level of approval. The US government’s FIPS 140-2 certification of BlackBerry 10 and the selection of BlackBerry 10 by the German Procurement Office and Federal Office for Information Security underline how our new platform continues to set the standard for government communications,” according to Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB).

Furthermore, the Canadian smartphone manufacturer said that it is working closely with the CESG to obtain its approval for the Blackberry 10. Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) reiterated its confidence in the Blackberry 10 and stated that the software will strengthen its position as the mobile solution choice for the British government.

The company  recently sold 1 million units of  Blackberry 10. Analysts at Morgan Stanley believed that the mystery buyer is Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ). Sterne Agee analyst, Shaw Wu, believes that the buyer is Indonesia.

In a separate report, the Canadian Industry Minister expressed hopes that Blackberry or previously named Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) will remain a champion and would grow organically worldwide, although he opined that the future of the device seemed uncertain because of the very aggressive nature of the telecommunications sector.

The shares of Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) were up 0.1 percent to $15.03 a share in Tuesday’s trading session.

UPDATE 3/20/13 10:45AM EST: Blackberry has emailed us the following statement related to this article: 

“Discussions with BlackBerry are ongoing about the use of the BlackBerry 10 platform in government. We have not yet performed an evaluation of the security of that platform, but we expect to be issuing Platform Guidance in the summer. This will cover a number of platforms including Blackberry 10 (and the use of ‘Balance’).

We have a long standing security partnership with BlackBerry and this gives us confidence that the BlackBerry 10 platform is likely to represent a viable solution for UK Government.”

Said a GCHQ spokesperson.

CESG Press Link.