Germany has backed BlackBerry's acquisition of mobile security company Secusmart. The government wanted to make sure that the purchase would not be a threat to Germany's security interests, as many government officials in the country use devices with Secusmart encryption.
Secusmart offers high-security voice and data encryption, along with anti-eavesdropping software for its customers, a fact that BlackBerry is likely to put front and center when pitching customers on their devices. These offerings are likely to appeal to security-minded organizations like businesses and governments.
What do you think of BlackBerry's acquisition of Secusmart? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Source: Reuters
Reader comments
Germany gives thumbs-up to BlackBerry's acquisition of Secusmart
One thing. Blackberry systems are reliable! Unlike ios.
Posted via CB10
I bought 100 shares of $BBRY for my Christmas present!
Posted via CB10
Awesome!!! Hope to see some consumer based options for voice and data transfer encryption.
Posted via CB10
I think one important matter has been left out which is:
"Media reports said Berlin had stipulated that German security officials have access to source codes in the BlackBerry operating system."
Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141130/technology-mobiles-and-tabs/articl...
Good move. For many corporate users, financial and government users security is priority one.
Posted via CB10
PERFECT!
Posted via CB10
What a world-class journalism. The most important part is missing in the article.
"….the German government has protected its national security with the help of a special treaty", said a spokeswoman at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
It would be quite interesting to know what demands the treaty puts on BlackBerry. Let's hope the Germans were (secu)smart enough to enter into agreement which legally binding not only for BlackBerry but also for company which will eventually acquire BlackBerry.
If not, they could be unpleasantly surprised in the end.
Agreed. I think there are a lot of companies pursuing BlackBerry right now. I bet data miners and NSA good old friends – Apple and Google (aka Yahoo) - are among them.
I think it's a great decision.
Posted via CrackBerry 10 (CB10) application using my BlackBerry Q10.
Now only if BlackBerry would make this stock and get back the consumers too
*Z30 STA100-5 10.2.1.2977/3247*
They will probably implement it on new bes and device versions as optional security feature.
This would make them the most secure solution for enterprises and governments all over the world.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
Don't give the competition a chance to compete in the security sector. It was a great, smart buy on BlackBerrys side.
From my amazing z10,q5
@Ronstermadness...After all they were Partners for about 5 years,how much did they pay??
Estoy esperando mi bb classic q me gane de parte de crackberry
awesome
good
Posted via CB10
Top shelf!
Posted via BlackBerry Passport
Germany is and always will be the leader nation in Europe!
There is no leading country or nation you moron!
We all have to solve our problems together.
Greetings from Germany.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
I like this guy.
Posted via BlackBerry Q10 on AT&T
The secusmart chip costs a bomb... probably they can give it to enterprises at a much lower price point... that'd bring awesome revenues!
Posted via CB10 and my awesome Z30STA100-2/10.2.1.3442
Chen was right to buy that company, not just for the German government but for other governments who need a trusted system for mobile communication. BlackBerry for the win!
Great idea, I'd purchase a BlackBerry with their encryption installed.
Posted via CB10
Two thumbs up from me.
Posted Via CB10 on my Z10
I'm interested to buy the secure card. I have send an email to official website but no answare. Can somebody help me?
Posted via CB10
You know you need more than one right?
Posted via BlackBerry Q10 on AT&T
Great move, that's manifesting BlackBerrys reliability in security. I believe in the trustworthiness of BlackBerry, and I hope, a lot will do now, too.
Posted via CB10 with my awesome BlackBerry Passport. BlackBerry 10 rocks!
You here and not on icanmakeitbetter?!
:-)
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
Well good for Germany love seeing leaders with the best dam smartphone in the world, I have a z10 and love it....
Posted via CB10
Way to go!
Posted via CB10
Buy it, make use of it, and really advertise it so people know BlackBerry is worth using or switching back to! Don't hide yourself, make it known and make it heard.
I think this is a great deal. It shows complete transparency. I do worry however that other countries would want the same deal. If these countries have access to source code can they then modify it? If so that could cause issues...no?
Posted via CB10
Good for BB that the deal finally has a green light!
I'm just wondering, what guys think about the fact that the Germans may have a look to blackberry's code...
Ha see my post below. Brilliant minds think alike...
Posted via CB10
Awesome
Posted via CB10
Winning bra!
Posted via CB10
Germany rocks so hard they even have their own BlackBerry OS
OS 10.2.2 that is. Wonderful OS , better than 10.3.1, which is totally crap.
Z10 (red) OS10.2.2.1531 Q5 (red) OS10.3.0.1418
... shhh, hush!
... because it's still in beta...? :-)
• Zzzzwipetyped from The Maskport - Zzzzmoqin'.... •
Can someone send this article over to Mr. leaky Faucette at Morgan Stanley? He works at that bank that brought the world to near financial ruin, then had the identities of 56 million customers stolen, then paid 20 billion in fines and then was finally convicted of the Libor scandal. Yes, nothing says quality like Morgan Stanley and Mr. Leaky Faucette.
Well actually no one of you ever read the original news story on this.
The government of Germany actually blocked the acquisition of SecuSmart and waved it through only after some new contracts with BlackBerry where made. This additional contract says that the BSI (Germany's derpartment for IT security) is allowed to check the BlackBerry OS 10 source code. The BSI has now full access to the source to be sure that no backdoors are built in which would currupt the Secusmart security. The contract says also that BlackBerry is forced(!) to report any exploits in BBOS immediatly to the BSI.
I think its pretty ok to have the BSI department doublechecking the source code because the BSI's missions is actually keeping government stuff and communication secure. You know we have a huge interest in keeping privacy private here in Germany.
Having expert eyes on the source code is a good thing. I'm sure other key governments have the same privilege. All vendors should be forced to report any exploits!
In my opinion, this will prove to be a big plus for BlackBerry. Hopefully, it will also benefit the consumer and not just business.
Posted via CrackBerry App on my Samsung Note 3
Indirectly, consumers will benefit from a strong third or fourth OS offering in the mobile market. They won't fork out $2000 for the encryption chip... :-)
• Zzzzwipetyped from The Maskport - Zzzzmoqin'.... •
Deutchland uber allis ... they will tie up BlackBerry in endless intrusive EU regulations & feece them for taxes they don't deserve by their socialist system... very bad idea... first BlackBerry should hire some talent from defunct webOS to fix their BBOS & write apps for it...
Posted via CB10
Hard to find talent to fix their OS and make some Apps, too difficult I guess. The camera and phone icon is still there, making calls and taking pictures by accident far too easy.
Z10 (red) OS10.2.2.1531 Q5 (red) OS10.3.0.1418
I don't live in a socialist system. Have you recently been in Germany or Europe? Do you know where it is?
Get the facts straight. Cia world factbook may help you.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
Lol the CIA Fact book comment is a nice addition to my sentiment.
Posted via BlackBerry Q10 on AT&T
Lmao what socialist system? Where and when did you get your education in the social sciences? The US rural south in the 50s? Hahaha
Come on you prick check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Posted via BlackBerry Q10 on AT&T
Germany is awesome.
Apple, The New Evil Empire
Interesting. I can see BB rebuilding their public 'reputation' by emphasizing their level of security.
*Germans
"May I see your Passport please?"
That is excellent news! If it's good enough for the German it should be good enough for the rest too.
"May I see your Passport please?"
This is why I love BlackBerry!
Posted via CB10
And as well i hope this mean that we will see the benefits soon in visa hopefully :) or would this be full benefits for all BlackBerry users on bb10
Send from the amazing powers of the Z30
It will send a strong message to the companies who sell or let the spying agencies to spy on people !
Others are reporting they signed a no-spy deal.
BB Proud
With this purchase, it will ensure BlackBerry staying as a Canadian company.
Posted via CB10
Great point! Insightful :)
Cool seeing Angela waving a Z10. John Chen should send her a Passport for Christmas :-)
Greetings Rolf Simons | The Netherlands
Goede dag uit Canada
Send from the amazing powers of the Z30
She actually uses the q10.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
This will come as a surprise to those who think BlackBerry has gone out of business .
Posted via CB10
Jells well with BB's business model -- not necessarily helping majority of the consumers, though...
Posted via CB10
If you have the business market the rest will follow. And business and private is more and more mixed. So secure the business part and consumers will make the switch also. That's my strong believe #imho
Greetings Rolf Simons | The Netherlands
The German being spoken of is in the picture
Posted via CB10
Ist gud, yah!
ZeeTen goodness in every tap.
Which German??
Posted via my BlackBerry Passport
How about getting the Blackberry Pass port on Verizon as a New Year's resolution?
Might want to correct the headline. Should be "Germany " not "German".
And the got the source code too.
So I am sure the NSA has it too.
BlackBerry hates America!
Source code is not an issue if you have designed it to be unhackable. BlackBerry routinely provides its source code to 3rd parties for verification. Nothing new. Now encryption keys would be a different matter but that ain't happening.
Posted via CB10
Nothing is, as you say, "unhackable".
BlackBerry hates America!
Well, apparently right now it is unhackable. That's life and you just have to accept it.
Posted via CB10
Guys. In case you didn't know:
The nsa licences encryption algorithms from certicom.
...and certicom belongs to....
...have a guess.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
Who who who, I wanna know !!
Z10
@AdamWeishaupt...Certicom is not making to many headlines,I wish they would,they were supposed to go into Epayment big time because of all their security certificates ,they are tops!!
BlackBerry could make a payment solution right now. They have all they need from a technical standpoint.
I guess they are looking for a partner to start. Or maybe the results of a trial making BBM an epaiment solution.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
@AdamWeishaupt...They have Enstream in Canada,but I want 10 times that market, the USA.
Why does BlackBerry hate America? Just because they built a relationship with the German government? Strange logic. America has some enemies but Germany isn't one of them.
I think that's just a signature
Posted via BlackBerry Q10 on AT&T
Happy with the news of the acquisition. Great move by BlackBerry.
Posted via CB10
Brilliant acquisition and another step in reconfirming BlackBerry's core principals and state of the art technology.
Posted via CB10
Almost more important than the actual news itself is that this story is getting headlined and picked up all over the mainstream media... So mind share (and probably stock share) will increase as well.
@BBHermes...Most of the time BB stock takes a hit on good news,go figure? WS usually comes to their senses a day or 2 later,lol
And with every bounce someone is filling their pockets...
A volatile stock that predictably reacts to news is just great for traders... :-)
• Zzzzwipetyped from The Maskport - Zzzzmoqin'.... •
The BBRY stock was on the negative side today (just a bit) and the markets were kinda flat...let's see on Monday !!$$
Z10
@3Mike...Markets are closed now but it's still 2:38 pm on the west coast,a timely press release From Them about some other good news and after hours could be oh,so good!!! Other than that Monday !!$$ Don't they have a PR team working for them ? With a bunch of goodies stached away?
I go to CNBC to follow the stock price of BB-CA on the TSX or BBRY on the NASDAQ. Sometimes you have premarket quotes with BBRY, check it out !!$$
http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/BB-CA
Z10
@3mike...BB's revenue for Q3 2015 ends today , Dec 19 is their next ER,in about a week I'm pretty sure the news will be out on how they did, and we should have a lot off fun watching the stock everywhere we can,many opinions,I like MarketWatch along with Nasdaq for the Pre-Market action, like yourself,but their is an amazing Twitter feed on MarketWatch and they have Links where you can get the latest from anywhere including CNBC.thanks and stay Long BB,haha
I'll check it out thanks
Z10 catch and release !!
Great acquisition. Like this news.
Posted via CB10
I guess that this means that "Germany" is happy that a BlackBerry device used with the correct management systems will not easily be spied on by other governments and their agencies?
Also I assume that "Germany" is not expecting BlackBerry to be sold to another company with less than stellar security credentials?
Posted via CB10
Germany knows Canada has control over foreign takeovers, and will NEVER let Blackberry be sold to foreign interests. BB is viewed more like a Raytheon or General Dynamics than an Apple or Samsung from the gov't perspective, i.e. strategic "military" asset.
Well put, my friend.
I like the analogy, and agree wholeheartedly.
Posted via CB10
No. The German BSI simply knows the encryption code wich was opened for them by secusmart.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
@AdamWeishaupt...I think you're right,they already had it,maybe that's why the deal went through so fast,it was about a month ago that they made it clear that the sale would not go through without it.
In germany, there arent many people who trust in any foreign company.. so "German gives thumbs-up to BlackBerry's acquisition of Secusmart" isnt true :/
So what your saying it's a conspiracy? Are you forgetting that Merkel is a avid BlackBerry fan for security and uses security chip from secusmart. When nsa spied on her Nokia but couldn't touch her z10, So naturally the two goes hand in hand
Send from the amazing powers of the Z30
Well ain't this fucking hilarious to see this comment with a profile pic like that.
LOL!
Well, its rly fu* hilarious. But i read many comments about this on the c't, maybe all that comments was written by a troll like you and arent helpful for it ;)
Guess you are not knowing what the topic is or what you are talking about.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
And speaking as a German that is working with people abroad from Japan, US, France, Poland...the whole world...let me say this:
Working together bases on trust.
I work in an international environment right now. I worked for Norhtrop Grumman and DaimlerChrysler.
Let me just set this right.
I think what you wrote here is complete immature bullshit.
Sorry having to say that this clear.
Of course Germans trust their partners and international friends.
To me, Blackberry is a trustworthy partner.
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
There you go...thumbs up !!
Z10
Puts them in a great position as a leader in device security, smart business more.
Posted via my lovely passport on T Mobile USA
Sweet
Posted via CB10
Great news but was there any doubt?
Posted using the best phone ever, the Z30!
Germany trusting BlackBerry is a world wide endorsement.
Posted via CB10
+1
Posted via CB10
I am happy with the Security front that BlackBerry has been a pioneer in. I work in the IT sector and security is our most priority.
Posted using my BB Q10
I like the sound of that. I am assuming that means that the devices are so incredibly secure now, that BlackBerry could drop the local security on their BB10 devices without any affects on the overall security?
Ever plugged a BB10 into USB? No questions any more, just maps all local drives in a blink. No known way to restrict that behaviour.
The communication now runs on the public channels. Unless you restrict it to VPN usage only.
And I am sure the complete haul up of the blackberry server structure was a welcome shake up and a great way to justify the importance of the IT department.
But as long as you have a great connection everything will be mostly secure, just beware of keeping data offline available. I am sure the day of areas with poor or no data connection being gone, is very close.
And all those crashes and memory hogging of native apps and the system itself must be another clear tell tale of increased security? And that is without 3rd party apps!
Makes great sense and I saw this happening, and this just mean that blackberry is getting even more secure with this acquisition could be more happier.
Send from the amazing powers of the Z30
It's very interesting and encouraging. I think it says a lot that the German government gave it an OK. That seems to suggest to me that BlackBerry legitimately does not allow government back doors into their products.
Posted via CB10
Yes!
Posted via CB10
I already do. Greetings from Germany. From my awesome Passport.
:-)
Didn't you guys ever forget something?
Yes, greetings! :) Enjoy your passport to fun!
It will just be a matter of time before everyone realizes the true value of BlackBerry
Posted via CB10
+1
Posted via CB10
Agreed as well
Posted via CB10
+2
And the shorties give up their silly game... :-)
• Zzzzwipetyped from The Maskport - Zzzzmoqin'.... •
Shouldn't that last sentence in the first paragraph read " BlackBerry devices with Secusmart encryption "
Posted via CB10
Shouldn't the title say "Germany gives..."
Let's be honest, this site has become a joke.
Posted via CB10
Any more of a joke than a good number of the people who post here acting as trolls, pushing some warped political agenda, or posting off topic? Therein lies the joke my friend. Let’s all stay on topic and drop the bias crap.
Posted via CB10 from my awesome Passport
Ditto
Perhaps there are devices being used that are not BlackBerry that use this encryption? Perhaps? Don't why, but...perhaps. :)
Posted via CB10
No. Secusmart built their solution for BlackBerry phones and they worked in partnership with BlackBerry for a few years and now BlackBerry has purchased them into BlackBerry so they are an "in house " product differentiator. You want advanced voice encryption in your communication network? You'll need both parties to have a BlackBerry handset. Supports the BlackBerry handset as the premium solution to secure communications.
Posted via CB10
I'm not so sure about that. Wasn't it on Samsung device that encrypted call was demoed at the enterprise event on November 17th?
Posted via CB10
@iontalkmuch...All I think I know is that, they outfitted around 2500 BB Z10's with their tech last year,they prefer to work with BB phones but can probably outfit any phone ,lol
Don't know, but now I MUST know! Of course BlackBerry could make it a cross platform add on service if they want to. I'm sure it can be done, but the effort was geared toward BlackBerry handsets because of their ground up security priority.
Posted via CB10
@Puz_zled...let's hope that market share plays into this also and they outfitted many Samsung and other devices,not just BB's
The hardware encryption engine SD card which is the heavy duty secure communications solution is BlackBerry only, I think. They also are working on a software based solution for lighter duty encrypted voice for use across other handset makes. To me, this is potentially a broad, lucrative value added service that can be provided with BlackBerry handsets as being the premier solution where rock solid security is the highest priority and a "good enough" service being provided to the broader across all makes of handsets market. I know the Secusmart software solution is behind the secure voice encryption service for eBBM cross platform voice.
Posted via CB10
@jojo beaconsfield did I see a blog here on CrackerBerry about BlackBerry now working with Samsung on encryption for their devices? If that is the case, then it would make sense when an another poster said they say it on a Samsung.
Posted via CB10
Pretty sure that announcement was about Samsung pushing BES 12 where ever possible and BlackBerry making KNOX work well with it, salvaging Samsung's non-existent security credibility.
Posted via CB10
@Puz_zled..I like the way you put that
I second that sentiment
Happily swiped on my Z10 STL100-3 10.2.1.3062
Only true Security out there,Good choice in believing in # 1
Yup
Plead John Chen to update and upgrade Sheets to go, or get a better native spreadsheet app for our so-called "Business" phone!!!!!
Try OFFICE from SNAP! Works on my Z30 and Q10 like a native app!!
Crashes on passport on start so no its not good alternative
Posted via CB10
Did you have to do something to get it to work? I downloaded Office Mobile (assuming that's what you meant) and it installs but then I get a stopped running message every time I try open it. Would love to know how you did it.
Posted via CB10
On my Z30, same story. Installed from Snap but it "Unfortunatelly" stops every time I try to open it. Docs to Go is garbish.
Posted via CB10
So agree with that. It's a shame that we have to side load an app like that.
Posted via CB10
BlackBerry needs something like Polaris Office or better. The Docs to Go by DataViz is grossly inadequate for a devices that's focused on enterprise and productivity.
Posted via CB10
Damn! Where's the edit button?
Posted via CB10
Damn! Where's the convert to PDF button !!
Z10
+1000! This app needs a big upgrade.