BlackBerry has rolled out a new certificate service offering for IoT devices that will integrate security features on smartphones into a range of devices from cars to smart meters. BlackBerry subsidiary Certicom designed the solution to secure millions of devices which are expected to be part of the growing Internet of Things sphere.
Increasing need for security
BlackBerry announced that it won a contract in Britain to issue certificates for the smart meter initiative for over 104 million smart meters and home energy management devices. The new solution will offer companies an easy and simpler way to authenticate and secure their devices.
North American companies have exhibited concerns about increased network and device security due to costly and damaging security fissures. Target is still recovering from a major rupture in 2013 when 40 million payment card numbers and 70 million other pieces of customer data, including email addresses and phone numbers, were filched. A major U.S. arts and crafts retailer, Michaels, also sustained a similar episode affecting around 2.6 million payment cards.
BlackBerry enhances computer security
In a separate development, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company laid out plans to expand its research and development efforts on innovation and improvement in computer security. The initiative will be known as the Center for High Assurance Computing Excellence (CHACE).
David Kleidermacher, chief security officer of BlackBerry, said, “There’s a belief that the key to the world’s security issues is to patch faster, but this hamster wheel fails to address the root issue.”
The Canadian smartphone maker has said that its fail-then-patch tactic to mend security has become a widely accepted practice. However, CHACE is a step ahead as it looks to design tools and techniques that offer a more advanced level of protection than is currently available.
To enhance the security of documents, BlackBerry acquired document security company, WatchDox for an estimated price of $70 million. BlackBerry CEO John Chen said the company continues to expand the ambit of data security to enable more collaboration and sharing rather than creating limitations. Chen said that post-acquisition, the company will have the capabilities to secure communications end-to-end for voice text, messaging, data and now enterprise file-sync and share.
