BlackBerry Acquires German Tech Firm to Bolster Government-Quality Security Solutions
BlackBerry has acquired Secusmart GmbH, which offers voice and data encryption and anti-eavesdropping solutions for government organizations, enterprises and telecommunications service providers.
BlackBerry’s acquisition of the German-based company was a logical step; BlackBerry and Secusmart have previously partnered to offer Secusmart’s technology to customers that have high-security needs. In fact, last year, the SecuSUITE for BlackBerry 10 solution was selected by Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security for classified communications for the country’s highest public officials.
“We are always improving our security solutions to keep up with the growing complexity of enterprise mobility, with devices being used for more critical tasks and to store more critical information, and security attacks becoming more sophisticated,” says John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry. “The acquisition of Secusmart underscores our focus on addressing growing security costs and threats ranging from individual privacy to national security.”
“This acquisition bolsters our security solutions with leading voice and data encryption and anti-eavesdropping technologies, and furthers BlackBerry’s security leadership in end-to-end mobile solutions,” he added.
The Waterloo-based smartphone maker’s acquisition of Secusmart is the latest demonstration of the company’s commitment to being the first name in enterprise mobile security, which it has refocused on after targeting regular consumers under former CEO Thorsten Heins’ reins.
“This transaction is a fantastic opportunity to accelerate growth in the market for high-end secure communications solutions, driven by the need to combat electronic eavesdropping and data theft,” noted Dr. Hans-Christoph Quelle, Managing Director of Secusmart. “Secusmart and BlackBerry’s solution already meets the highest security requirements of the German federal authorities and NATO for restricted communications.”
“We see significant opportunities to introduce Secusmart’s solutions to more of BlackBerry’s government and enterprise customers around the world,” Quelle added.
BlackBerry customers include all G7 governments, 16 of the G20 governments, 10 out of 10 of the largest global enterprises in each of the pharmaceutical, legal and automotive industries, and the five largest oil and gas companies.
