[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Research In Motion Limited (RIM®) is focused on innovation in the mobile space, which means we’re always expanding our understanding of what our customers want and need in an ever-changing and accelerating mobile world. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes and a wide array of technology “building blocks” in the pipeline. In addition to the obvious expansion from smartphones into tablets through the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, RIM also has efforts around mobile device management, unified communications and VOIP, multi-core real time OS via QNX, mobile multimedia, and much more. One interesting example of these ‘building blocks” is the BlackBerry® Smart Card Reader.

The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader is a peripheral device that allows organizations, especially those in highly secure industries, to integrate their pre-existing, smartcard-based security mechanisms into the BlackBerry® solution, adding an additional layer of access security. Smart Card technologies are in line with security programs like the U.S. Department of Defense’s Common Access Card (CAC) program and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which calls for a mandatory, government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the federal government to its employees and to the employees of federal contractors.

Being part of the BlackBerry family, it comes as no surprise that the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader, just like the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, has recently earned FIPS 140-2 certification. Specifically, the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader earned a Level 3 designation – the highest certification achieved by any wireless smart card reader on the market – verifying our advanced security features, including things like physical tamper evidence and self destruction of critical security parameters upon device breach.

Since I am always interested to hear more about our security story, I met up once again with Michael K. Brown, Director of Security Product Management, to discuss the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader and its new FIPS certification. Check out our conversation in the above video.

Do you have any questions about the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader? Please share in the comments.