The all new Blackberry Priv has landed and Blackberry seems to be seriously focused on seeing their flagship Android device to success. Part of that effort is keeping it up-to-date and in a blog post today the company is aiming to do just that and to do it frequently. Blackberry has announced that the Blackberry Priv will be receiving monthly security updates, much like the Google Nexus devices do today. This commitment is similar to that of HTC who has promised their new One A9 will receive security updates 15 days after Google releases them each month.
One of the biggest perceptions – correct or otherwise – of Android is that it is less secure than other platforms. Google, after the Stage Fright security challenge, has doubled-down on getting updates out to their devices but that hasn’t been the case with other manufactures. Blackberry for their part, want to be on top of it and that is nothing but a good thing for users who are getting or considering getting the Priv.
In addition to the monthly security updates, the Blackberry Priv will be receiving hot fixes between the monthly security update to address immediate and critical fixes.
Blackberry Priv
Some critical Android vulnerabilities – for example, one that can be easily and remotely exploited with a publicly disclosed method to execute “root” privileged malware – simply can’t wait for a monthly update cycle. Depending on the severity of the problem, complexity of the fix, and timing relative to the monthly update cycle, BlackBerry will opt to perform a hotfix, where the code to address only the specific critical problem is pushed to customers.
Finally, there will be enterprise updates through the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) so that the control of updates and security fixes for mobile devices are controlled at an enterprise level. BES is certainly not new and one of the strengths of Blackberry has had over the years. With their shift to Android it is good to see that this strength for them is moving along with it.
