BlackBerry has launched new cybersecurity consulting services with particular focus on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance and connected automobile security.
GDPR is scheduled to come into effect in May 2018, and applies to any enterprise controlling or processing the personally identifiable information (PII) of European Union residents.
BlackBerry Cybersecurity Consulting stands ready to guide organisations through the process of understanding how to manage company data, how GDPR applies to the organisation, and how to achieve a competitive readiness posture, the company said.
"Having been engaged with the EU Justice Directorate-General since 2012, we understand the GDPR requirements and have developed expertise to help address the full range of GDPR implications for enterprises, from situational assessment to offering DPO (Data Protection Officer)-as-a-service," said BlackBerry global head of sales, Carl Wiese.
{loadposition stephen08}"In addition to consulting services, we provide many necessary software solutions, making BlackBerry a one-stop shop for GDPR compliance."
BlackBerry is also offering new services helping to eliminate security vulnerabilities within connected and autonomous vehicles both directly and through a new partner program.
The company's 2010 acquisition of QNX provided it with expertise in safety-critical systems in automotive, healthcare, energy and manufacturing.
"When it comes to connected cars, there is no safety without security," observed Weise.
"BlackBerry's cybersecurity consulting practice builds on decades of experience in information security, data protection and cyber-resilience to support our clients in protecting their most valuable assets. As hacking evolves and new threats arise, our new cybersecurity consulting services will help play a critical role in the development of secure connected and autonomous vehicles."
The first partner to join the new program is Spring Cloud, a South Korea based supplier of autonomous driving AI platforms in South Korea.
In related news, BlackBerry announced that more than 100 enterprise-grade products are now available via BlackBerry Marketplace.
These products include applications, extensions and enterprise software solutions that were built on BlackBerry's development platform.
The BlackBerry Marketplace has been improved to make it easier to find relevant products.
Recently announced products in the Marketplace include Lookout's comprehensive risk detection and threat intelligence solution, Mimecast's mobile application for searching and accessingr personal archives, and Wandera's security product that helps protect mobile devices malware, phishing and network attacks.
"ISV partners and developers want to create products on BlackBerry's development platform because it takes care of all the backend and infrastructure services, and makes their application not just secure, but BlackBerry Secure" said BlackBerry senior vice-president and chief evangelist Mark Wilson.
"We want to work with as many partners as possible, in all industries and geographies, so we can offer our customers the broadest range of highly-secure innovative enterprise solutions."