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Germany approves of Blackberry’s Secusmart buy out

by on01 December 2014



Ironically keeps the US out

Germany has given the thumbs up to Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry's planned acquisition of Secusmart. 

Secusmart makes encryption technology of which is used to protect the mobile devices of top politicians including Chancellor Angela Merkel. The buyout was part of new Chief Executive John Chen's effort to enhance Blackberry's appeal for security conscious government agencies who rightly feel that Apple and Google roll over too readily for the US authorities.

The Germans were worried that the purchase of Secusmart, a privately held firm based in Duesseldorf, might pose a threat to German security interests. Merkel and other members of the German government have Blackberry mobile devices with Secusmart encryption.

According to media reports, Germany insisted that the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) be granted certain access and control rights related to the code used in the Blackberry operating system. Germany has reportedly also won assurances from Blackberry that confidential information would not be passed on to foreign intelligence agencies.

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