The BlackBerry PlayBook has just become the first tablet to be approved under FIPS for use within the U.S. federal government. While the FIPS certification may not mean a whole lot to end users off hand, as it stands right now -- the approval of certification for the BlackBerry PlayBook OS is a pretty big thing to have happen. Many folks have speculated that one reason for the delays of native email and PIM on the PlayBook was due to the lack of FIPS certification. While that may or may not be true, we'll soon find out find out if the certification will help move these updates along. As Isaac highlighted:

FIPS - Federal Information Processing Standard - this is the cryptographic gold standard for the US government and is the required standard for many government agencies on their computers and handheld devices. The FIPS 140-2 certification is issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  A FIPS 140-2  certificate applies to an exact module name, hardware, software, firmware and/or applet version.  Translation: if RIM needs to 'tweek' something on this device it will need to be re-certified by NIST to maintain the 140-2. 

Now that Government has deemed the PlayBook OS secure, it meets RIM's standard policy on security as well and we all know how much Mike Lazaridis likes to ensure folks that BlackBerry devices are secure. Either way, the approval is a good thing that will hopefully trigger some reaction from RIM to push out some new features for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

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Source: NIST

July 21, 2011
BlackBerry PlayBook Becomes First Tablet Certified for U.S. Government
BlackBerry PlayBook Wins 'Best in Show' Award at FOSE 2011
WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 21, 2011) - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) announced today that it has received FIPS 140-2 certification for the new BlackBerry(R) PlayBook(TM) tablet, making the BlackBerry PlayBook the first tablet certified for deployment within U.S. federal government agencies. No other tablet on the market has gained FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA).

"RIM is pleased to announce that the BlackBerry PlayBook is the first tablet approved under FIPS for use within the U.S. federal government," said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion. "This certification demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the needs of security-conscious organizations and enables the U.S. federal government to buy with confidence knowing that the PlayBook meets their computing policy requirements for protecting sensitive information."

BlackBerry PlayBook is a powerful, ultra-portable tablet that fits comfortably in one hand. It has a stunning 7-inch high resolution display, offers true multi-tasking capabilities and a high-fidelity web experience. It also allows for secure pairing with BlackBerry(R) smartphones via the BlackBerry(R) Bridge(TM) app, which enables users to access their BlackBerry smartphone's email, calendar, address book, memo pad, task list, BBM (BlackBerry(R) Messenger) and browsing functionality using the larger display on the tablet.

The FIPS-certified BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is being showcased this week in Washington DC at FOSE - the largest Federal government information technology conference in the U.S. - where BlackBerry PlayBook has just been awarded Best in Show, and also Best of FOSE in the Handheld Devices category.
More information about the BlackBerry PlayBook is available at www.blackberry.com/playbook.

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