BlackBerry partners with Dedrone on counter-drone technology
BlackBerry on Wednesday announced it's partnering with the airspace security firm Dedrone to deliver counter-drone technology. Dedrone will be integrating BlackBerry's AtHoc crisis communications software into its products to enable real-time alerts when a malicious or unauthorized drone is detected in a customer's airspace.
The new integration will allow customers to create automated, highly targeted alerts based on criteria such as flight zones, drone behavior or user groups.
"When an unauthorized drone enters restricted airspace, time is of the essence," Dedrone President and Chief Business Officer Aaditya Devarakonda said in a statement. "The more effectively the on-site personnel can respond, the better their chances of countering whatever the drone is there to do."
Dedrone, founded in 2014, works with a range of public and private sector customers, includig the US military, allied and coalition forces, correctional facilities, airports and utilities.
BlackBerry, for its part, transitioned away from the mobile device business to focus on security software and services. Endpoint security management is one of its areas of focus.
"Drones are one of the many IoT endpoints that add to the growing chaos that security leaders must navigate," BlackBerry's SVP of Secure Communications Christoph Erdmann said in a statement.