Last week, through its official blog, BlackBerry blasted the Blackphone, saying that it doesn’t come close to touching BlackBerry’s enterprise-grade security. According to BlackBerry, Blackphone has “consumer-grade” security that has it falling short of “delivering the desired peace of mind.” Blackphone isn’t taking the hits lying down, as it just fired back through a blog post of its own.
In the post, Blackphone poked fun at BlackBerry’s poor sales in regards to the Playbook, Z10, Q10, and “other devices.” Blackphone also said that BlackBerry’s conflicts with local governments due to lawful interception caused betrayals of its customers. Here are some excerpts from the post:
“Unfortunately, the world discovered in 2010 that RIM was willing to compromise its integrity if sufficient pressure was applied by governments intent on spying on the messages sent via the ubiquitous devices. Various statements from the Saudi, UAE, Indian, and other telecom regulatory bodies all confirmed the same thing: RIM made it technically possible for the formerly-secret encrypted messages to be decrypted and viewed. Much speculation surrounds exactly what was done, and whether it remains in place today, but if anything there was more than one approach which achieved the same basic goal: a betrayal of the objectives of privacy.”
“In the past five years, the drop is still almost 83 percent, and that’s including the recent bump following Blackberry’s announcement that, at last, they’re opening up their own Blackberry Enterprise Server to manage the devices people actually buy: namely, iOS and Android.”
“This touches upon a key point: our approach is attractive because the technology and architecture of the Blackphone ecosystem is more flexible, more transparent, and more usable. Closed systems — like BES and Mr. McGarvey’s beloved EMM approach — are not attuned to how most enterprises are deploying mobility solutions today.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the Blackphone, it’s a security-focused smartphone that was formed from a joint venture between global encrypted communications service Silent Circle and mobile phone solutions outfit Geeksphone. Given that purpose, the Blackphone is out to capture the same market BlackBerry is attempting to capture: those who crave security and privacy above all else, consumers and businesspeople alike.
