BlackBerry launches snoop-proof tablet

Struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry is targeting public sector and government departments with its new SecuTABLET device which features strong, hardware-accelerated encryption.

Samsung Galaxy S Tab 10.5

BlackBerry launched the SecuTABLET at the CeBIT 2015 computer expo in Germany.

The device itself is a custom version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, with 16 gigabyte of storage and LTE 4G wireless broadband connectivity.

It uses Samsung's Knox secure boot and device partitioning technology, runs the Android operating system and carries the Korean company's branding.

Cryptographic software for SecuTABLET's Secure app wrapping tech was contributed by IBM.

IBM's app wrapping tech uses hardware from BlackBerry subsidiary SecuSMART, comprising a special MicroSD card that intercepts data flows and the accompanying inter-process communications and scramble it.

SecuTABLET is expected to sell for US$2380 (A$3705), with availability slated for the southern hemisphere winter through SecuSMART in Germany and IBM worldwide.

Work on the SecuTABLET started before BlackBerry bought the German company in July last year. It has continued in parallel with the development of security solutions for Blackberry 10.

Organisations can use BlackBerry's mobile device management solution for the SecuTABLET and write their own policies to protect key apps.

BlackBerry said the SecuTABLET is being certified by Germany's Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik federal IT security authority, to obtain the Verschlusssache-Nur für Dienstgebrauch (VS-nFD) classification that limits the tablet for official use only.

BlackBerry has previously attempted to break into the tablet market with the BlackBerry Playbook released in 2011, with little success.

In 2013 the company announced it would not upgrade the device's operating system to the most release 10 claiming user 'performance and usability concerns'.