BlackBerry Buys U.K. Cybersecurity Firm, Launches Consultancy
BlackBerry’s new cybersecurity services will focus on four areas: strategic security for businesses, especially for mobile and cloud applications; technical security for infrastructure; cybersecurity consulting for automotive and Internet of Things applications; and threat detection, testing and analysis.
Founded in 2006, Encription is certified by the CESG — the information security arm of the Government Communications Headquarters, the U.K.’s counterpart to the National Security Agency — to provide penetration testing for government agencies and public sector organizations. BlackBerry said its acquisition of Encription was completed Friday but did not provide further details about the deal.
Moves To Diversify
BlackBerry’s devices have long enjoyed a reputation as secure mobile communications choices for government and enterprise users. However, the company’s mobile operating system has only a small share of the global market. BlackBerry’s OS held just 0.2 percent of the smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2015, down from 0.5 percent in the same quarter in 2014, according to a report released last week by the analyst firm Gartner Inc.
The company has made a number of recent moves aimed at strengthening its position by diversifying if offerings. In November, for example, it released its first-ever Android-based smartphone — the Priv — aimed at privacy- and security-conscious enterprise users. BlackBerry also acquired the mobile software company Good Technology for $ 425 million in September.
With its acquisition of Encription, BlackBerry said it aims to further expand its security portfolio for organizations facing a growing number of cyberthreats. It cited 2015 research from the Ponemon Institute that put the global cost of data breaches at more than $ 400 billion a year.
Testing can ‘Mitigate Cyber Risks’
“We recognize that security vulnerabilities are a top risk concern for public and private sector organizations alike,” BlackBerry executive chairman and CEO John Chen (pictured above) said today in a statement. “The creation of our Professional Cybersecurity Services practice and acquisition of Encription reinforces our commitment to providing customers the industry’s most secure mobility solutions and helping them to assess and mitigate risks.”
The acquisition of Encription will be “an impactful addition to our consulting practice as they bring years of deep experience in cybersecurity consulting,” said COO Marty Beard in a blog post today. “Among other things, Encription specializes in penetration testing — which means they can mimic the techniques of malicious hackers and take those learnings to educate and mitigate the cyber risks posed by criminal hackers.”
The rapid growth of networked sensors and the Internet of Things means the opportunity for cyberattacks is only growing. For example, a report published earlier this month by Harvard University’s Berkman Center’s Berklett Cybersecurity Project concluded that advancing IoT technologies will open new mechanisms for government surveillance “so much so that they raise troubling questions about how exposed to eavesdropping the general public is poised to become.”
