Blackberry is well known for delivery of ultra secure solutions to devices and services. In December of 2014, Blackberry confirmed the full acquisition of German based security firm SecuMart. Secumart provides device encryption ranging from Smartphones to Tablets. It’s clients included the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Blackberry later partnered with Samsung, IBM and SecuMart to launch the SecuTablet, a highly secure Tablet targeted at the same demographic.
Now Blackberry has announced plans to purchase WatchDox, a Startup based in Palo Alto California and with offices in Israel that provides secure enterprise file sync and sharing solutions, enabling users to share, work with and control their files on every device. Think of it like Dropbox or other services like it, but made for the enterprise with more security layers. Its clients include Private Equity Firms and Hollywood Studios. Blackberry is set to pay $150 Million for the start-up.
In the same breadth, Blackberry has announced the launch of a new service aimed at the Internet of Things sphere. The new certificate will offer security level it offers on smartphones to a slew of devices from cars to smart meters. Blackberry won a contract in Britain to issue certificates for the smart meter initiative there with more than 104 million smart meters and home energy management devices targeted.
BlackBerry also outlined a plan to expand its research and development efforts on innovation and improvement in computer security. The initiative is being dubbed BlackBerry Center for High Assurance Computing Excellence (CHACE). Through CHACE it plans to develop tools and techniques that deliver a far higher level of protection than is currently available.