Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced that BlackBerry® smartphones running on the BlackBerry® 7 Operating System (OS) have been independently evaluated by a third-party Common Criteria evaluation facility and meet the security criteria for evaluation assurance level (EAL) 4+.


The Common Criteria is an international standard for validating that products meet specific security requirements. Widely respected for its extensive and comprehensive evaluation by an independent third party, EAL4+ accreditation examines a product’s design, software development methodology, and security mechanisms. EAL4+ is the highest level of accreditation under the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) by 26 countries.


“Security is one of the most important considerations for enterprise customers and we are proud that BlackBerry 7 OS has earned this rigorous certification,” said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at RIM. “RIM is renowned as a market leader in the delivery of secure mobile solutions, and this achievement helps to provide our customers globally with continued confidence in deploying BlackBerry solutions throughout their organizations.”


As a market leader in the area of information assurance and compliance, RIM is committed to independent, third party security testing and certifications of BlackBerry products. RIM is active in the Cryptographic Module Validation Program in North America, United Kingdom CESG Assisted Product Service (CAPS) and International Common Criteria evaluation scheme. BlackBerry® Enterprise Server has been previously awarded EAL4+ certification and the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution has also been previously approved for storing and transmitting sensitive data by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as well as government organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Austria, Australia and New Zealand.