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Introducing a New Secure Manufacturing Service to Win Consumer Trust

Connecting people and things may be the new norm for businesses and consumers alike, but with the endless possibilities of the hyperconnected world, comes a significant and ever-increasing risk.

High-profile data breaches and reports of security flaws in connected devices make regular headlines, so it’s no surprise that consumers are increasingly worried about privacy and security. Data breaches are no longer simply a nuisance or a technology issue, consumer trust is essential to the success of connected devices and services. In fact, a Frost & Sullivan study into the state of online trust found that 48% of people stop using a service after a breach is reported.

To help IoT device OEMs ensure their products can be trusted, we are excited to announce a new manufacturing service that will provide the bake-in security controls to help protect devices against being exploited, hijacked, or misused right from the beginning

BlackBerry has always built security into every layer of our products. Every single BlackBerry device that we’ve produced is put through a robust validation process during manufacturing, one which ensures that every BlackBerry device is cryptographically-secure and tamper-proof. Today, we are making our time-tested process available to any device manufacturer who is committed to building products worthy of the BlackBerry Secure label.

BlackBerry’s manufacturing service provides a secure development and manufacturing environment for the production of connected devices. In addition to providing a hardware Root of Trust, BlackBerry hooks directly into our own infrastructure, which we monitor 24/7 to ensure uptime and reliability. How it works is fairly simple.

During manufacturing, a BlackBerry Secure Identity Service Key is injected into the hardware and recorded on a secure server. Both at launch and periodically throughout the product’s lifecycle, checks are performed to see that the two keys match. If they do not, the device no longer boots.

When you sign up for a BlackBerry Secure license, we’ll help you implement remotely-managed, secure workstations at each of your manufacturing plants. Built on secure web 2.0 architecture, these workstations are easy to manage and use. Even better, they require no permanent VPN connectivity to do their job.

While there are other companies that provide a hardware root of trust, with BlackBerry Secure you have the advantage of a long and trusted heritage in keeping your hardware secure because your devices will be adhering to the strictest security principles. Devices that protect against rooting, malware, and a range of other security threats facing IoT.

Trust and security aside, there’s another clear benefit for OEMs on working with BlackBerry: we can help mitigate supply line theft. Because a device will not boot without a legitimate BSIS key, stolen hardware that didn’t go through the full validation process will be effectively worthless.

Hyperconnectivity is changing the world – but that comes hand-in-hand with some significant security threats. IoT device OEMs especially have a duty of care to address those threats, both during the manufacturing process and throughout the life-cycle of their products. With BlackBerry as your partner, you have an opportunity to build trusted smart devices, leveraging the brand that’s trusted by consumers, enterprises and governments around the world. The result is a device your users can trust to protect against threats to their apps, data and networks

It’s the first step towards ensuring that the ‘things’ you create are BlackBerry Secure – a proven, trusted, and cost-effective licensed solution that addresses the evolving security and privacy needs of businesses and consumers alike.

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