BlackBerry 10 cleared for use by US Defence dept

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BlackBerry 10 smart phones and PlayBook tablets have been cleared by the US Department of Defence (DoD) for use on its networks, amid reports that the department may also clear devices from Samsung and Apple.

The department has approved BlackBerry 10 smart phones and PlayBook tablets with its enterprise mobility management platform BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 to be used on its networks, said BlackBerry.

After testing through DoD labs, the devices have been listed in the Defence Information Systems Agency’s Unified Communications Approved Product List. DISA, which manages the information infrastructure for defence, certifies commercial technology for defence use.

The company, formerly known as RIM, had announced in November that its BlackBerry 10 platform was FIPS 140-2 certified. Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) security certification would enable government agencies to deploy BlackBerry 10 smart phones and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, it said.

BlackBerry said in March it shipped about one million BlackBerry Z10 smart phones during its fiscal fourth quarter which ended 2 March. The Z10 is the first BlackBerry 10 OS device. BlackBerry shipped a total of six million smart phones in the quarter, the company said as it released its quarterly earnings.

The current approval from the department covers the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 smart phones and PlayBook tablets on DoD networks, which will likely give a boost to sales of these devices, which the company is counting on to revive its business. The Q10 is already available in the UK and Canada, but not yet in the US.

The US DoD, however, expects to give security approvals in the coming weeks for Samsung’s Galaxy smart phones and iPhones and iPads running Apple’s latest operating system, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The department has already cleared Samsung’s Knox, a new Android-based platform designed by the company to enhance security of the current open source Android, according to reports quoting a Pentagon spokesman.

IDG News Service

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