The U.S. Defense Department will likely approve Apple’s mobile devices for use on its networks early next week, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Alana Johnson.
The approval will allow for government-issued devices running iOS 6 and let Apple compete with BlackBerry and Samsung for military market share. However, widespread adoption of Apple devices can only happen after a mobile device management system is built by the Pentagon to secure the devices.
Bloomberg also reports that the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology granted Apple’s iOS 6 a certification known as the Federal Information Processing Standard for protecting sensitive data on May 3. Prior to this approval, agencies that purchased Apple devices had to use a third party application in order to comply with security requirements.
Michael Cooper, a manager in the agency’s computer-security division, said departments can now “go out and buy these products off the shelf and know that they’re getting security capabilities built in that meet government standards.”
via Bloomberg
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