Over the years, the BlackBerry name has been recognized in the world of mobility as a provider of devices built for the enterprise with the company's deadlock security software or a messaging powerhouse because of the ergonomic keyboard that has been one of Waterloo's most prominent selling points.
Now that BlackBerry has employed Android into their latest device, die-hard crackberries and new users alike are eager to find out if the company had made certain security measures when Waterloo made ties with the known open-source and ubiquitous mobile operating system from Mountain View.
BlackBerry took this opportunity to outline the certain steps they took to keep the Priv, even when it does not use the company's proprietary BB10 operating system, with their legacy and reputation of deadlock security.
First, the Priv comes with BlackBerry's Hardware Root of Trust, the company's unique process that 'injects cryptographic keys into the hardware itself' to provide security for the entire platform. It comes with Verified Boot and Secure Bootchain to verify every layer of the device to check if the device, the operating system or the aplications have been modified or tampered with. There is also a hardened Linux kernel with numerous patches and configuration changes to deliver a more robust security to the platform.
With FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encyption turned on by default, privacy is the main game of the device. The company also incorporates the BlackBerry Infrastructure to offer a secure distributed global network that delivers petabytes of encrpyted data to the leading professionals. BES12 is also on board - a reputable Enterprise Mobility Management platform that is used by the enterprise and the government.
Furthermore, the Priv comes with Android for Work to offer a secure separation of work and personal data. Personal Space is for the user's own privacy, while Work Space is for securing corporate data. The Priv also features DTEK to show which apps access the user's personal data, along with the overall security of the device based on the password strength, the user's apps and the encryption settings.