Cyber security company BlackBerry has received a Cyber Essentials Plus (CE+) certification from the UK government.
It claims to be the first major mobile vendor to have received this certification. Cyber Essentials is part of the UK government’s National Cyber Security Strategy and its objective is to make the country a safe place for running online businesses.
From October 2014, the government has made it mandatory for suppliers to receive Cyber Essentials for bidding in government contracts, where sensitive and personal information is handled.
Base Cyber Essentials certification has a range of security processes such as account management, firewall configuration, device configuration, backup processes and other security-related configurations.
To receive Cyber Essentials Plus certification, an authorised external tester will conduct tests from within the organisation including internal network scan, verification of account security for both standard users and administrative accounts.
The tester will also perform tests for defences against the installation of malicious software through email and web browsing.
Additionally, BlackBerry said it is now an accredited certifying body for Cyber Essentials Plus. This means that BlackBerry can help other businesses receive their own Cyber Essentials certification.
BlackBerry has already been offering support to government departments, product suppliers, manufacturers and administrative organisations in achieving Cyber Essentials accreditation.
The services that will be offered by BlackBerry include external penetration testing, internal penetration testing, PCI DSS Approved Scanning Vendors (ASV), can help identify human and environmental vulnerabilities threatening networks and Threat Intelligence and Knowledge (THINK) service.
It also offers forensic services which can further be divided into digital forensic investigations, incident response support, one-day onsite forensic readiness consultation and recovery of damaged drives.
BlackBerry Security Technology senior vice president Adam Boulton said: “as cyber security becomes more and more of a concern, the UK Ministry of Defense is mandating that its supply chain be Cyber Essentials certified for sensitive projects.
“BlackBerry leads the industry in secure military and government communications, and the Cyber Essentials certification gives BlackBerry yet another competitive advantage over other embedded software platform vendors.
“With now over 80 certifications and validations, BlackBerry continues to widen the gap as the world’s most trusted and secure mobile software platform.”
