BlackBerry launching secure productivity bundle with Blend, BBM and VPN authentication

The other big announcement at the BlackBerry Classic event today was the launch of a secure productivity bundle for users. The subscription based bundle works for individual users within enterprises and gives them secure versions of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), the new BlackBerry Blend for enterprise as well as VPN Authentication for a variety of devices. Pricing for Canada has yet to be confirmed.

Apple said to be investigating celebrity photo theft connection to iCloud

News broke earlier today of stolen private celebrity photos that were hacked from their various personal accounts and then leaked to newsgroups.

According to various reports, private photos including nudes taken from actresses and models were stolen in a massive security breach encompassing various private online accounts. The hackers then placed the photos up on newsgroup 4Chan, possibly to bait buyers to pay for the stolen and potentially scandalous private photos.

It was insinuated that the breach involved various online services including Apple's iCloud, which synchronizes and backup files from user's mobile devices and desktops.  An Apple spokesperson said today that the company is actively investigating if there was indeed a breach to its user's accounts. "We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report." The FBI is also on the case, tracking how this breach of personal privacy took place and affected dozens of celebrities.

Hacking celebrity accounts, whether on online services or on celfones is nothing new. Various starlets and actors have been victim to getting their personal information and photos stolen. More salacious material such as sexy or nude selfies are often the target of these security breaches. Stay tuned for more developments in this story.

Source: AppleInsider

BlackBerry BES10 now available as a hosted service

BlackBerry announced that BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES10) will be available as a hosted service, providing the benefits of BlackBerry’s trusted enterprise mobility management (EMM) and advanced security capabilities with the convenience and cost-effectiveness of outsourced IT administration. With BES10 Hosted, hosting partners can provide customers with easy-to-manage iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices with BlackBerry’s best-in-class security and support in order to meet each customers’ diverse mobile business requirements.

“BlackBerry’s BES10 Hosted is focused on providing more choices and flexibility in how enterprise customers can manage their mobile environments,” said John Sims, President of Enterprise Services at BlackBerry. “We’re working closely with our hosting partners to deliver best-in-class managed services to customers in a way that meets their unique business needs without compromising on security, reliability and cost-efficiency.” Hit jump for all the details.

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Sue Wagner joins Apple's board of directors, Bill Campbell retires

It's been quite a year for Apple management and board changes with new blood coming in to add fresh perspective to the company at large. Apple just announced that Susan L. Wagner, founding partner and director of BlackRock, has been elected to Apple's board of directors. Bill Campbell, the board’s longest-serving member, is retiring after 17 years of service. Wagner becomes the second female board member for Apple joining Andrea Jung from Grameen America.

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