The biggest complaint about Android has been fragmentation which is applicable to user experience and security. Many small companies today are offering “hardened” Android implementations that falsely tell to offer security and privacy.
Blackberry wrote in a blog post, they avoid to criticize other’s products and make misleading comparisons. In addition to it, they would rather choose to explain the technical details of our solution and let buyers judge based on the details and past performances.
Blackberry has outlined the major prongs of Blackberry’s Android security strategy in their PRIV privacy and security blog series. Blackberry’s security incident response strategy is an example of how customers should consider not only the device but also the company name behind the device. The company’s past success and commitment in putting your privacy and security first should also be counted.
Initially, PRIV was shipped with Android Lollipop 5.1.1. Blackberry is currently in the process to integrate the new release by Google which is Android 6 Marshmallow. Marshmallow comes with a number of security enhancements but when it comes to “hardening” Android, a number of additional improvements independent of the Android versions are included by Blackberry’s special sauce. These improvements are:
- In order to ensure device integrity, all of our hardware are signed with digital keys at the manufacturing level.
- Improvements are made in Address Space Layout Randomization security technique which is not in Android M. This makes very difficult for malware to exploit Android software bugs.
- The improvements to the SELinux mandatory access control policy system are not present in Android M.
- The Pathtrust utility which ensures that untrusted code cannot be dynamically introduced into the system via malware is again not present in Android M.
- There are hundreds of hardening improvements to the Android service framework and Linux kernel enabling features like DTEK, our new app that helps you protect your own privacy and security.
- Tamper- proofing
- Cryptographic improvements that help in improving upon the Android password’s protection against brute- force attacks.
- In order to benefit business users, support for smart card authentication and another enterprise- specific features are given.
Blackberry is the only company that not only provides secure Android device but also Enterprise Mobility Management suite. Nothing can match PRIV, whether it’s Android Lollipop or Marshmallow, in Android security and privacy. PRIV incorporates Blackberry’s experience, technology and commitment to user privacy and security which is unmatchable in the world.
