Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Mobile

    BlackBerry Releases BBM Protected, Chat App for Regulated Industries

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    June 16, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      BlackBerry BBM

      BlackBerry has launched BBM Protected, the first solution to come out of the eBBM Suite it introduced at Mobile World Congress in February.

      The suite is a family of services and products that pairs BlackBerry’s BBM messaging products—its most popular offerings—with enterprise-grade security features.

      BBM Protected is a service that gives users in regulated industries more freedom, and the potential for greater efficiency, by enabling them to message with other BBM Protected users outside their organizations.

      Users in regulated industries like government and finance are “caught between a rock and a hard place today, when it comes to secure IT,” BlackBerry’s Jeff Gadway said in a June 16 blog post. “Many consumer IM apps don’t meet the security needs of IT, while the enterprise IM apps deployed by IT leave end-users seeking more utility and a better mobile experience.”

      BBM Protected combines one of the world’s most-loved ways to chat (when BlackBerry released BBM for iOS, it became a top-five app in more than 50 countries), with technology that protects data when it’s at rest on the device and in transit.

      “Employees can chat securely with BBM Protected users at other companies, too—they do not need to be on the same BES server and no federation between servers is required,” BlackBerry said in a June 16 statement.

      It’s the only secure instant messaging solution that uses a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic library and symmetric encryption keys for what BlackBerry calls an “unrivaled level of trust in BBM message encryption.”

      The first time that a chat is initiated between two Protected users, they’re required to share a secret passphrase in order to generate an encrypted key to secure their chat. One user can share the phrase with the other via photo, email, text or in person, and it only needs to be entered the first time a pair chats. (BlackBerry showed an example in which the password was “SUPER MARIO.”

      The release of BBM Protected is available for BlackBerry devices running BBOS 6.0 or later versions, or BlackBerry 10 devices in Regulated mode. No software update is required; it can be added as an IT policy through a company’s BES console.

      A later rollout will extend BBM Protected to BlackBerry 10 smartphones in Work/Personal Balance mode, as well as to organizations with iPhones and Android devices.

      Later this year, BlackBerry will begin offering the BlackBerry Classic, a flagship smartphone that will bring back some of the physical features of older models that long-time users say they miss.

      Deeper into the calendar, BlackBerry will also open an Innovation Center in Washington, D.C., that will put it closer to many of its users in government. President Obama—the first U.S. president to be allowed a smartphone—is perhaps the company’s most well-known user. Though earlier this year the Department of Defense confirmed that the White House was piloting various types of devices.

      BlackBerry told eWEEK at the time, “The U.S. government continues to choose BlackBerry for its unmatched security and cost effectiveness.”

      Follow Michelle Maisto on Twitter.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×