The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has approved using BlackBerry (BB -0.69%) 10 smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 on its networks, the company announced this week.
Reuters reports that the DoD this week also cleared Samsung's Android Knox for use on Defense Department networks and expects to clear Apple mobile devices using the iOS 6 system soon.
BlackBerry says that after undergoing DoD lab testing, Blackberry 10 smartphones and Blackberry Playbook tablets are now listed on the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Unified Communications Approved Product List (UC APL). Program Vice President Stephen D. Drake said this is good news for the lagging smartphone maker.
"The U.S. Department of Defense's strict security requirements are amongst the highest in the world, and this allows other government bodies to follow suit," Drake was quoted as saying. "The role of BlackBerry including devices and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 continues to be important and relevant for security conscious organizations."
Back in March, the U.K.'s Communications-Electronics Security Group said it was still reviewing the use of the BlackBerry 10 platform for government purposes and expected to issue guidance in the summer.
