BlackBerry buys Secusmart

BlackBerry's John Chen says the deal with Secusmart is part of a strategy to make the BlackBerry phone among the most secure in the world and build on its reputation for safe communication. Image: BlackBerry

Financial details of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, were not disclosed.

The two companies had already partnered to offer Secusmart-equipped BlackBerry handsets to most German government ministries and to the chancellor herself following allegations last year of the United States spying on German officials and citizens.

"This deal confirms BlackBerry's respected reputation for providing secure mobile communications," Chief Executive John Chen said in a statement.

He said the security needs of smartphone users continue to increase with the growing complexity of enterprise mobility, with devices being used for more critical tasks and to store more critical information, while security attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated.

"The purcahse of Secusmart addresses growing security costs and increasing numbers of threats ranging from individual privacy to national security," Chen said.

It comes as the White House tries to patch up a serious rift with Germany over the disclosures that the US National Security Agency (NSA) tapped Merkel's mobile phone.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge