How Encription, Good Technology Bolster BlackBerry’s Security Strategy

BlackBerry’s most recent acquisitions—Encription and Good Technology—will help the company focus on corporate customers and bolster its security efforts.

The idea behind acquiring Good was simple. BlackBerry wanted to be the go-to platform for mobility solutions, and Good had formed a strong customer base. By acquiring Good, BlackBerry has been able to expand its presence in mobile-device management and mobile-application management while maintaining a business connection with the smartphone customers it’s losing to iOS and Android.

Encription was a highly strategic acquisition for BlackBerry. The company is incorporating Encription’s solutions into a new Cybersecurity Services Practice, announced Feb. 24, that will work with business customers to bolster their mobile and network security. It includes consulting services, tools and training, and Encription plays a central role in all of that.

Since it acquired Good, BlackBerry has highlighted the Good Technology subsidiary’s secure management suite as one of its top offerings for corporate customers. In fact, encryption is used across a wide range of Good Technology solutions, and BlackBerry plans to bolster their security as time goes on.

One of the most important aspects of Encription’s business is the company’s ability to track down hackers. Encription has a Forensic Services practice that, in addition to working to minimize the damage hackers cause, is also capable of determining how they gained access to the network. The practice can also determine, in some cases, where the attack came from. With Encription’s help, BlackBerry is now in the business of hunting down hackers.

There is a wide range of applications available to Good Technology users. The company offers all-in-one secure email, contacts, calendar and intranet. Good also provides a secure Web browser, instant messaging and documents support. The list goes on. Good has developed widely respected mobile apps, all designed for secure enterprise use.

An important component in tracking down hackers is understanding how they think and behave. Encription offers a penetration testing service, which mimics the techniques used by hackers to determine whether a company is adequately safeguarded against a possible attack. Companies that work with Encription are also told how to plug those holes before hackers can pounce.

To its credit, BlackBerry hasn’t dropped one of Good’s most appealing features: its cross-platform technology. Good is available for Android and iOS, as well as desktop platforms. And it, of course, can be used on BlackBerry. But it’s that cross-platform support that attracted customers in the first place, and BlackBerry has maintained it.

Training IT staff about malicious hackers and how they attack networks is exceedingly important. Realizing that, Encription provides a series of cyber-training courses all aimed at educating IT professionals on the risks they face. All of those classes are accredited by internationally recognized security agencies.

Considering Good Technology was an established company with a long roster of enterprise customers, BlackBerry had to pay $425 million when it bought the company in 2015. While that’s not a huge acquisition for BlackBerry, it’s one of its largest in years and arguably one of its most important as it works to rebuild its ailing business.

Unlike the Good buy, BlackBerry is unwilling to say what it paid for Encription. The company actually closed the deal on Feb. 19 and has since been starting to integrate it into the Cybersecurity Services Practice group. Regardless of the price, given the focus of that Practice, Encription will play a central role and its services will not change that much after the BlackBerry buyout.