BlackBerry mentioned on Thursday it has received the appropriate to promote instruments for encrypting cellphone calls and textual content messages to the US federal authorities, garnering an endorsement from the National Security Agency for the merchandise.

The corporate mentioned it acquired the endorsement from the NSA’s Nationwide Info Assurance Partnership, or NIAP, which critiques business expertise merchandise to see in the event that they meet enhanced safety requirements for presidency use.

NIAP has additionally endorsed instruments from BlackBerry rivals that outplayed BlackBerry in shopper smartphones, together with Apple and Samsung Electronics.

The worry that eavesdroppers are listening in to authorities communications has risen sharply lately, with an unencrypted cell phone name between a senior US State Division officer and the US ambassador to Ukraine intercepted and leaked on-line in early 2014.

The instruments are primarily based on expertise from Secusmart, which BlackBerry acquired in 2014 after the German startup received a contract to lock down Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone within the wake of claims by a former US intelligence contractor that it was tapped by the NSA.

German prosecutors in 2015 dropped an inquiry into claims that Merkel’s cellphone was bugged, saying that they had not discovered sufficient proof to proceed the probe.

BlackBerry mentioned its encrypted voice and textual content messaging merchandise are utilized by authorities businesses in 20 nations in Europe, Latin America, southeast Asia and Africa.

Germany is its greatest authorities buyer.

© Thomson Reuters 2017