Blackberry encryption approved for government use

Blackberry Ltd. announced Thursday morning that its encrypted communication service has won National Security Agency (NSA) approval, paving the way for it to begin selling the product to the federal government.

The tool, called Secusuite, can encrypt calls and texts across Apple, Android and Blackberry operating systems, according to the company’s announcement.

“Call tapping is happening at an alarming rate,” Alex Thurber, Blackberry’s vice president of mobility solutions, said in a statement. “In today’s connected world, restricting agency employees to only exchange classified information from the desk phone is no longer a viable option, but it could be the new reality if governments don’t start securing calls and texts from mobile devices.”

{mosads}The NSA-managed National Information Assurance Partnership certified the Blackberry product for government use.

Secusuite is a product of Secusmart, the German encryption company that Blackberry purchased in 2014.

Secusmart’s encryption services were reportedly adopted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after documents leaked by Edward Snowden alleged that the U.S. had bugged her phone.

German authorities later dropped an investigation into the allegation, citing a lack of evidence.

According to Blackberry, Secusuite’s encryption is used by more than 20 governments around the world.