BlackBerry has surely gained some attention in the ongoing encryption war between Apple and the FBI. The Canadian firm, which is a trusted name in the field of security, has still not made clear the amount of data it is willing to give law enforcement. But it seems it is clear on one thing: it won’t create any backdoors.
Chen already clarified: “no backdoors”
On being asked at MWC if it would be willing to design back doors for law enforcement, BlackBerry COO Marty Beard referred to two blog posts by CEO John Chen in December and January says PC Mag.
In the Jan. 16 blog post, Chen said, “There are no backdoors in any BlackBerry devices, and BlackBerry does not store and therefore cannot share BlackBerry device passwords with law enforcement or anyone else.”
Chen’s January blog post was a more refined version of the December post, where Chen said, “Our privacy commitment does not extend to criminals,” and that the Canadian firm will help with law enforcement requests but will not give backdoor access or “government access to our servers.”
Beard did not provide many details but said the company was prepared to exit Pakistan because it did not entertain the government’s request to provide a backdoor.
“On the other hand, we comply with legal requests where it makes sense, and we’ve always done that,” Beard said.
The executive declined to comment when asked if BlackBerry would unlock a Priv for the FBI or if such a thing is technically feasible.
BlackBerry a trusted name in security and encryption
BlackBerry’s clarification that it will not provide backdoor in its software for government access shows the extra care the Canadian firm takes when dealing with such sensitive issues. Similar to Apple, BlackBerry would take a major hit if it allows backdoor access to its software. BlackBerry is a popular name when it comes to security and encryption. The Canadian firm is famous for the security systems it implemented in BB OS 10 and Android.
The San Bernardino iPhone saga has divided the world into two different sides. On one side, there are tech firms that believe Apple is doing the right thing by not helping the FBI unlock the iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernardino shooters. On the other hand, politicians and the public want to see Apple comply with the court order.
