BlackBerry announced on Wednesday that it had acquired U.K.-based cyber security consultancy Encription to kick off their new Professional Cybersecurity Services practice.
Encription’s specialties range from deep technical skills in software security to hardware capabilities. This includes industry-leading assessments in penetration testing, mimicking the techniques of malicious hackers to ensure organizations are aware of cyber risks posed by criminal hackers and how to address them.
Additionally, Encription has been entrusted by one of the UK government’s highest security standards with the CESG CHECK IT and ISO/IEC 27001 certifications. This adds another significant security certification to BlackBerry’s portfolio in order to meet the stringent standards and requirements for countries the company serves.
The acquisition will bring a team of about 40 cyber security professionals, who have helped test network vulnerabilities for both government agencies and large corporate entities, into the BlackBerry fold.
“This is a natural extension of what we do right now,” said James Mackey, BlackBerry’s head of corporate development.
“We’re very excited about this new offering and we think it is highly complementary and a nice addition to our security portfolio.”
Mackey noted that BlackBerry already provides white hat hacking for its own products.
“What was missing was the ability to take what we do now and point that externally. Encription gives us the ability to expand this practice,” he said
The acquisition will give BlackBerry the opportunity to also cross-sell some of its own security products, said Mackey.
Cyber security has been gaining a lot of traction with increased need for security in almost all sectors of industries and with advancements in the field of Internet of Things, there will be an even greater demand for security software and consultancy services.
Defense against latest security threats, development and implementation of mitigation strategies, implementation of necessary IT security standards are just some of the things that BlackBerry will be able to offer not only it’s existing clients but anybody.
BlackBerry’s acquisition of Encription and the their professional cybersecurity services is a big deal.
BlackBerry still has customers in segments like the government and other secure organizations like financial services, healthcare and the oil industry. And while the company has lost out in many business areas, the government and organizations with high regulatory compliance are part of a category where BlackBerry remains relatively strong.
BlackBerry says it has some 70 government certifications and approvals, the largest amount of any other mobile vendor, with contracts with all G7 governments, 16 of the G20 governments, 10 out of 10 of the largest global banks and law firms, and the top five largest managed healthcare, investment services, and oil and gas companies.
For now, these ties are based around BlackBerry handsets, but tying itself deeper into the services that run on other devices means that BlackBerry can bid for business regardless what handset gets adopted.
BlackBerry is focusing on consulting as this is a huge business area, and BlackBerry really needs more of these.
While data security breaches can cost more than $400 billion to businesses, individuals and organizations annually, that also represents an opportunity to companies that are trying to stop those threats.
BlackBerry notes that cybersecurity consulting “is currently estimated to be a $16.5 billion annual global business that is forecast to grow to $23 billion per annum by 2019. Cybersecurity consulting represents a natural market opportunity for BlackBerry since it already securely manages hundreds of millions of mobile endpoints and provides critical systems software for more than 60 million connected cars.â€Â
BlackBerry will cover several areas in its new consultancy practice:
Strategic Security: best practices in IT operation ranging across enterprise mobility management and cloud services.
Technical Security: technical assistance for infrastructure and product development lifecycle.
Automotive and IoT Security: security consulting services as the rapid commercialization of IoT solutions makes security and privacy a top priority.
Detection, Testing and Analysis: threat detection and mitigation penetration testing, vulnerability assessment and incident response analysis. This includes forensic services, business security status via IT health checks, training, regulatory compliance and security breach management through incident response.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Mackey said that Encription is the beginning of what could become a series of investments in security services. BlackBerry said it will hire more security professionals over time.
Brierley Hill-based law firm Higgs & Sons advised Encription’s shareholders on the buyout.
Jamie Partington, an associate in the firm’s corporate department who specialises in working with tech companies, said:
“Everyone has worked really hard over the last couple of months to deliver this project against a tight time-frame and we were delighted to get it over the line for the shareholders.
“Negotiations bridged England, Canada, Dublin and New York – and the successful and swift completion was satisfying for everyone involved.”
