BlackBerry Z10 Keyboard

A recent report claimed that BlackBerry 10 and the BlackBerry Z10 are "not secure enough for essential work" and that the platform and the smartphone were rejected by the British government. The Guardian published the news earlier this week, noting that BlackBerry 7.1 was allowed by government workers with "restricted" classifications, but that BlackBerry 10 doesn't meet those standards.

BlackBerry responded to The Guardian's report on Wednesday shooting down those claims. "Media reports alleging that BlackBerry 10 has been 'rejected' for U.K. government use are both false and misleading," the company said in a press release. "BlackBerry has a long-established relationship with CESG and we remain the only mobile solution approved for use at 'Restricted' when configured in accordance with CESG guidelines." The company said the delay with BlackBerry 10 isn't because it's not secure enough, but rather because of a re-structuring of the approval process, and pointed to recent certifications by the U.S. and German governments as proof that the operating system is indeed secure.

"We're confident that BlackBerry 10 will only strengthen our position as the mobile solution of choice for the U.K. government," BlackBerry said. If not, the company could face a serious blow in an industry that formerly used to guarantee sales.

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 "Media reports alleging that BlackBerry 10 has been 'rejected' for U.K. government use are both false and misleading. BlackBerry has a long-established relationship with CESG and we remain the only mobile solution approved for use at 'Restricted' when configured in accordance with CESG guidelines. This level of approval only comes following a process which is rigorous and absolutely necessary given the highly confidential nature of the communications being transmitted. The current re-structuring of this approval process, due to the Government Protective Marking Scheme review and the new CESG Commercial Product Assurance scheme has an impact on the timeline for BlackBerry 10 to receive a similar level of approval. The U.S. government's FIPS 140-2 certification of BlackBerry 10 and the selection of BlackBerry 10 by the German Procurement Office and Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) underline how our new platform continues to set the standard for government communications. We are continuing to work closely with CESG on the approval of BlackBerry 10 and we're confident that BlackBerry 10 will only strengthen our position as the mobile solution of choice for the U.K. government."