BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY) Signs Up To Fido Alliance

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has become the latest member of the FIDO Alliance, a group of firms seeking to introduce authentication technologies. The Fast IDentity Online is concerned with making the process of identifying oneself to different online services easier without having to compromise security.

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is the first big handset maker to have joined the alliance. The list of prominent members includes Paypal executives, Google executives and Lenovo executives. Despite their presence in the same industry working group, it is unlikely this move proves that Lenovo Group Limited (ADR) (OTCMKTS:LNVGY) is set on acquiring Blackberry.

Improving security at BlackBerry

Blackberry has been a great brand for enterprise because of the security features it offers, and the company is not set on giving that up now, even if it is likely to be swallowed up in the coming weeks or months. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) put itself up for sale a few weeks ago, though no bids for the company have emerged into the public eye just yet.

“Offering safe, reliable access for our customers across the globe is inherent to everything BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) does as an organization. We are both excited and proud to join the FIDO Alliance to help extend mobile security best practices and standards to the global community as the alliance strives to achieve universal secure authentication,” said Brian McBride, an executive in charge of security issues at BlackBerry.

The Fido Alliance operates in the sphere that BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) excelled in for years. If the company is going to survive the next decade it will be on the back of its enterprise offerings rather than consumer sales. If the Fido Alliance actually manages to meet its goals, it could have positive effects on BlackBerry for some time to come.

Fido security

Fido ID is looking to introduce a number of ways to make it easier for users to identify themselves to computers and web services. The current method, remembering thirty separate passwords, could certainly use some improvement. The services that Fido is working on seek to use voice, fingerprints and USB keys, among other identification methods.

These methods would be brought together in a single browser plugin and would be usable by anybody, making the internet more secure for everyone, in theory at least. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is the latest company to get in on the action.