BlackBerry's enterprise container gets US security clearance

BlackBerry  has received a coveted security clearance that paves the way for US government agencies to use its systems to manage and secure Android and iOS-powered devices operating on their internal networks.

The company's Secure Work Space offering now has Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 certification.

Secure Work Space fences off corporate email, calendar, contacts, tasks, memos, browsing and document editing from personal apps and content on smartphone and tablet devices that run on either Apple's iOS platform and Google's Android operating system.

The system, introduced last year, could mean BlackBerry can sell its high-margin services to large, security-conscious government and corporate clients even if many or all of their employees are using smartphones made by the company's competitors.

Secure Work Space allows IT administrators to configure, secure, or wipe sensitive data from devices, while also giving employees the freedom to enjoy them by loading games and external applications for personal use.

The system runs on BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, the platform that allows the company's corporate and government clients to manage devices on their internal networks.