BlackBerry doubles down on cyber security services with UK consultancy buy-out

BlackBerry has acquired UK-based cybersecurity consultancy Encription, which will form part of a new consulting practice it is launching to continue its pivot towards services.

The new consulting practice is called the Professional Cybersecurity Services and will help organisations assess and thwart cybersecurity risks.

This will include four main services; Strategic Security will provide best practices in IT operation, while Technical Security will provide technical assistance for infrastructure and product development.

Automotive and IoT Security will focus on the growing Internet of Things market, while Detection, Testing and Analysis will provide threat detection, mitigation penetration testing, vulnerability assessment and incident response analysis.

The Encription buy is intended to boost this practice. In a statement BlackBerry cited Encription’s penetration testing as a key reason for the purchase; this means the company can mimic hacker techniques and use these to model potential risks.

It also stated that the company has one of the UK government’s highest security standards: the CESG CHECK IT and ISO/IEC 27001 certifications.

John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO at BlackBerry said: "We recognise that security vulnerabilities are a top risk concern for public and private sector organisations alike.

"The creation of our Professional Cybersecurity Services and acquisition of Encription reinforces our commitment to providing customers the industry’s most secure mobility solutions and helping them to assess and mitigate risks."

"As threats increase, there is greater demand to combat the vulnerabilities," wrote Marty Beard, Chief Operating Officer at BlackBerry.

"The creation of our Professional Cybersecurity Services practice and acquisition of Encription reinforces our commitment to customers to provide the industry’s most secure mobility solutions to help assess and mitigate risks."

BlackBerry is looking for new avenues of business as its share of the device market declines.

In the company’s Q3 results in December, BlackBerry’s non-GAAP software and services revenue more than doubled to $162m from a year earlier.