BlackBerry Readies Cloud-Based Cybersecurity System

Waterloo, Ont.-based BlackBerry Ltd. is developing a new cybersecurity technology that the company claims is faster and more comprehensive than current safeguards.

Dubbed “Jarvis,” BlackBerry’s cloud-based system evaluates software code for weakness, quickly pinpointing section of code that need attention. Jarvis can be used throughout the vehicle development cycle and monitor cars once they’re on the road.

BlackBerry says Jarvis checks code against known threats used by cyber criminals and for compliance with regulations, such as those set by the Motor Industry Software Reliability Assn. The technology, which BlackBerry developed originally for its own smartphones, also can be used in healthcare, industrial automation, aerospace and defense industry applications.

Recent tests with Jaguar Land Rover showed Jarvis could complete a full cybersecurity check for a vehicle in about seven minutes. This compares with about 30 days for conventional methods that require a team of experts to manually review lines of software code.

BlackBerry plans to offer Jarvis on a pay-as-you-go basis to carmakers. Customers will be able to evaluate new software as it’s being developed—including technologies for connected and autonomous vehicles—as well as existing software already in production. Deep learning algorithms will be used to help predict and fix vulnerabilities, according to the company.