Each year, Google issues an annual report on Android security, and a BlackBerry phone was named one of the most secure Android devices on the market: The BlackBerry PRIV. BlackBerry is honored that PRIV was included in Google’s Android Security: 2016 Year in Review.
As Google said in its report, the core Android platform is “strengthened by regular security updates for the platform, applications, and devices and constantly evolving security services that monitor and protect the ecosystem.” BlackBerry is one of only four manufacturers Google named that delivers Android security updates to flagship devices on the same day that Google updates its own smartphones, “thereby providing [our] customers with the most up-to-date security available.”
When you choose an Android by BlackBerry device, whether PRIV, DTEK50, DTEK60, the upcoming KEYone and Aurora, here are some of the security features you can count on to keep your device, your data, and your privacy safe:
- The Hardware Root of Trust, which installs security keys directly on the processor at manufacturing time
- A secure boot process that protects the operating system against tampering by malware or other threats that leverages the Hardware Root of Trust
- A hardened Linux kernel that modifies Android to reduce its attack surface
- Certicom FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic libraries to ensure that it satisfies the security requirements for protecting unclassified information as defined by the Federal Information Processing Standards
- BlackBerry Secure Compound, which creates a special trusted execution environment for sensitive data and apps
- The DTEK by BlackBerry application that allows users to see what is happening on their smartphone and helps to improve overall security health
- A commitment to rapid Android patching to improve functionality and close security gaps
