BlackBerry updates its BBM app to bring support for “Protected”

Yesterday, BlackBerry updated its official BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) application in the Play Store to bring support for “Protected” — a new ” enterprise-grade secure instant messaging service.”

So, what exactly is BBM Protected and how does it work?

Well, according to the Canadian manufacturer:

“BBM Protected offers an enterprise-grade secure instant messaging service with all the features of a consumer IM app, the hardening of on-premise security together with the convenience of a cloud service. All messages are encrypted using keys generated by the communicating mobile devices themselves. This BlackBerry innovation effectively prevents ‘man in the middle’ hacker attacks, providing greater security than competing encryption schemes, and earning BBM Protected FIPS 140-2 validation by the U.S. Department of Defense.

With the announcement this week, organizations using BBM Protected can now let their employees chat securely using BBM Protected to non-BBM Protected workers at other companies, or customers. The result: instant federation and bulletproof security for messaging communications with partners outside of your enterprise.”

BBM Protected is available via an extra subscription through BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Services), but to get you acquainted with the service, a 30-day free trial can be accessed. It’s available for all Android devices running Ice Cream Sandwich or above, version 2.6 of the BBM app or higher.

Source: Play Store

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