BlackBerry closes acquisition of voice and data encryption firm Secusmart

BlackBerry Ltd said Friday it has completed its acquisition of Secusmart, a privately held firm that specializes in voice and data encryption.

Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry agreed to buy the German maker of encryption and anti-eavesdropping services in July, in a move to burnish its credentials with highly security-conscious clients like government agencies. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Secusmart’s technology is being used to protect the devices of government officials in both Canada and Germany, including the BlackBerry device used by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The German government approved the acquisition of Secusmart last month. The takeover was particularly sensitive in Germany, given that the deal was announced after revelations that U.S. intelligence agencies had listened in on phone conversations that Merkel made from a non-encrypted phone.

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Merkel and other members of the German government now have Blackberry mobile devices with Secusmart encryption.

“The acquisition of Secusmart underscores BlackBerry’s long-standing commitment to being the best in enterprise mobile security. BlackBerry is the only vendor to offer secure and encrypted voice, text and messaging, setting us further apart from others in the industry,” said Chief Executive John Chen in a statement.

Reuters