BlackBerry PlayBook is first tablet certified for US government use

By eGovInnovation Editors | Jul 28, 2011

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WATERLOO - The BlackBerry PlayBook  has received the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), making it the first tablet certified for deployment within US federal government agencies.

Research In Motion (RIM) said in a release published in its website that no other tablet in the market has gained FIPS certification from NIST, which is required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA).

"This certification demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the needs of security-conscious organizations and enables the US federal government to buy with confidence knowing that the PlayBook meets their computing policy requirements for protecting sensitive information," said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion.

The FIPS-certified BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is being showcased this week in Washington DC at FOSE, the largest Federal government information technology conference in the US, where it was also named Best in Show and Best of FOSE in the Handheld Devices category.

RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook has a 7-inch high resolution display and allows for secure pairing with BlackBerry smartphones via the BlackBerry Bridge app, which enables users to access their BlackBerry smartphone's email, calendar, address book, memo pad, task list, BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) and browsing functionality using the larger display on the tablet.