In a recent publication, the UK Parliament addressed a variety of questions and concerns, spanning the gamut from food poisoning to public education. Among them was the question about which Government employees used an iPhone or BlackBerry, to which Secretary of State for Health Simon Burns replied that BlackBerry is the only device approved by the the government’s Communications-Electrioncs Security Group.
The only mobile telecoms or personal digital assistant devices that have been issued to Ministers of the Department are BlackBerry devices. These have been provided to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Anne Milton) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Earl Howe). The Department does not issue Apple iPhones to staff as these are not approved for Government use by the CESG. CESG is the Information Assurance arm of GCHQ which aims to protect and promote the vital interests of the United Kingdom by providing advice and assistance on the security of communications and electronic data.
Apple continues to strive for the enterprise market with enhanced security features in iPhone OS 4.0, but RIM has had over ten years to get this stuff down pat, and will likely keep tight-lipped companies equipped without worry of competition for some time. In my experience with the federal government here in Ottawa, Ontario, you would be hard-pressed to find anything but a BlackBerry in the hands of a public servant (maybe in part because of its Canadian origin). Despite its ubiquity and security, there is still a level of government communications that require more security than BlackBerry can currently offer, which is actually a good thing; it means RIM can continue to make significant progress in mobile security to address the significant market in governments worldwide. Even then, in situations like the U.S. Air Force, they can cut back on some of the BlackBerry’s connectivity in order to have it meet standards while still remaining useful.
[via Public Service]