Apple has already surpassed BlackBerry in market share, even taking over in the business world that was long the Canadian company's stronghold. Several factors have led to BlackBerry's downfall: poor financial results, Apple's increasing emphasis on enterprise functionality and the growth of the BYOD trend are just a few. Now, a report has cast doubt on one of the last arguments in BlackBerry's favor: security.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit digital rights group, has published its Secure Messaging Scorecard, where it evaluates different messaging systems according to their security features. EFF states that the Scorecard should be taken as an indication of whether providers are on the right track, and the results certainly suggest that Apple has taken the appropriate measures to beef up security following the highly-publicized release of users' private files.
The Scorecard shows whether the different services meet seven security benchmarks. Apple's Face Time and iMessage are both compliant with five of them, missing only the ability to verify contacts' identities and the possibility to independently review the system's code.
BlackBerry Messenger, on the other hand, meets just one requirement — messages are encrypted in transit — which all but two of the 41 evaluated providers has. The only systems that meet all seven benchmarks are the ones that are specifically designed for that purpose, such as Cryptocat, Orbot and TextSecure.
Companies can now feel comfortable using Apple as their primary mobile provider. Apple support specialists can assist with iOS management and training to guarantee that businesses enjoy a high degree of functionality and security.
