BlackBerry’s latest device, the BlackBerry PRIV is one which has gained considerable attention in the run up to its release. This is of course, thanks to the PRIV coming running on the Android operating system, which makes it the first BlackBerry device to come running on Android. One of the reasons which had been thought to be why BlackBerry had held back on releasing an Android powered device, was due to the consistent and controversial issue of Android security. In fact, the latest Stagefright exploits have been a prime example of the type of vulnerabilities that need to be taken into consideration with any Android smartphone and by any manufacturer thinking of releasing an Android device.
Well, BlackBerry do pride themselves on being secure and it is actually one of the selling points the company makes for their devices, that they are secure, as is your data. On that note, BlackBerry have released a blog post this morning detailing this very issue and committing themselves to ensuring that their Android powered PRIV will be safe, or, at least as safe as BlackBerry can guarantee.
The first way is by commenting that they will offer PRIV owners a monthly security update, much like what we have seen and heard from the likes of Samsung, Google, LG and others already. If the device is bought directly from BlackBerry, then the patches will come directly from BlackBerry and in a timely fashion. If a carrier is involved in the process, BlackBerry have stated they will look to approve the updates as quickly as possible. In Addition, BlackBerry have noted where Hotfixes are needed (quicker fixes for specific code vulnerabilities and security flaws), BlackBerry will look to push these out independently and quickly to all PRIV smartphones and regardless of carrier involvement. Last up, it is no secret that BlackBerry will be looking to secure some of the enterprise sector with the PRIV and on that note, have confirmed that IT managers making use of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) will be able to manually control when patches are sent out to their devices for extra peace of mind.