BlackBerry has introduced a service that provides the mechanism for vehicles and infrastructure, such as traffic lights, to exchange information privately using digital certificates.
Targeted at automakers and public offices involved in smart city and connected vehicle pilots, the Security Credential Management System (SCMS) offers a secure hosted Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) that can manage certificates on behalf of an organization or an entire ecosystem.
According to the US Department of Transportation, as connected vehicle applications exchange information among vehicles, roadway infrastructure, traffic management centers, and wireless mobile devices, a security system is needed to ensure that users can trust the validity of information received from other systems.
Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen the new BlackBerry service will help accelerate the many smart city and connected vehicle pilot programs taking place around the world.
First project
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said that its first project using the new SCMS service will be in partnership with Invest Ottawa, a non-profit organization that facilitates economic growth and job creation in the city of Ottawa.
The organization will leverage the service within a 16-kilometer road autonomous vehicle (AV) test track that resembles a miniature city.
Kelly Daize, Director of the CAV Program at Invest Ottawa, said the integrated public and private AV test tracks are equipped with GPS, DSRC, Wi-Fi, 4G/LTE and 5G.
Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said in a statement that the Canadian government is focused on ensuring all Canadians stand to benefit from digital transformation.
“Building on Canada’s promising advancements in the field of autonomous vehicles, it will help our communities use information and communications technology in a way that is secure and safe to improve their residents' lives.”
Continued software push
On December 20, Bloomberg reported that BlackBerry’s software push is paying off, swinging to a profit of US$59 million in the quarter ended Nov. 30 from a loss of US$275 million a year earlier.
Throughout this year, the Canadian smartphone maker has continued its aggressive transition into a software and services company.
Providing access to the Internet of things (IoT) is among its core focus. In September, it launched BlackBerry Spark, an Enterprise of Things (EoT) platform, which it said is “built for ultra-secure hyperconnectivity from the kernel to the edge.” In November, it acquired California-based IoT security provider Cylance to further strengthen its IoT push.
In its earnings report for the three months ended November 30, 2018, it reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal 2019, eyeing software and services billings and revenue growth of between 8 percent to 10 percent year-over-year.
