BlackBerry Launches New AI-Powered Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) Solution

BlackBerry just unveiled BlackBerry® Protect Mobile, a new mobile threat defense (MTD) solution that extends the powerful AI-based security in BlackBerry® Protect to mobile devices. The solution provides security teams with unprecedented visibility into their mobile, desktop, and server endpoints from a single security console, which is critical during a time when remote workers are being targeted with mobile malware and phishing attacks.

Recent studies have reported that mobile phishing is one of the fastest growing threats and global mobile phishing attempts has increased by almost 40% amid the shift to remote work during the pandemic. A lack of visibility into endpoint activity could result in threats within the infrastructure remaining undetected until it’s too late. In 60% of breaches, attackers compromised organizations within minutes¹; however, on average it took organizations 229 days to identify the fact that a malicious attack had occured².

Built on the BlackBerry Spark® Platform, BlackBerry Protect Mobile leverages BlackBerry’s advanced AI engine to detect attacks before they can execute. It alerts users before opening URLs and visiting spoofing websites designed to mimic legitimate pages to gather confidential or personal information. It does so by detecting mobile malware attacks at the device and application levels to extend protection without the need for human intervention. It identifies security vulnerabilities and potential malicious activities by monitoring system parameters, device configurations, and system libraries at the application level. It also identifies malware from sideloaded applications, and can ensure that applications are only sourced through secure repositories.

Protect Mobile is a product within BlackBerry® Cyber Suite, which combines AI-driven endpoint protection (EPP), detection and response (EDR), mobile threat defense (MTD), and continuous authentication and behavioral analytics (UEBA) for the broadest and most powerful set of security solutions available.

“The number of phishing attacks that target mobile users will continue to rise because business is being conducted on mobile devices and users are more susceptible to attacks when viewing and accessing content on the go,” said Billy Ho, Executive Vice President of BlackBerry Spark. "BlackBerry Protect Mobile provides mobile device security integrated into our unified endpoint security (UES) solutions for a simplified approach to identifying and alerting users and administrators to phishing attempts and mobile malware across the enterprise.”

“The shift to global work from home driven by the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the traditional notion of work, and remote work is here to stay,” said Phil Hochmuth, Program Vice President, Enterprise Mobility, IDC. “We expect that the WFH boom will spark initiatives to modernize enterprise security, including mobile threat detection, which is essential for organizations to defend their users from growing mobile risks.”