Apple Government Contracts: Apple’s STIG – The Details

Apple Government Contracts: Do you remember this article from earlier in May: Where Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) Once Dominated, Apple Inc. (AAPL) Getting a Chance. In it, we discussed the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may soon have a shot to win some of the business from the Pentagon that BlackBerry has been holding onto for so many years.

At the time, we talked about Apple waiting on approval from the U.S. Department of Defense. Well, it appears that the wait is finally over.

According to an official release from the U.S. Department of Defense, officials have approved the use of government issued iOS 6 devices.

This is a big step forward for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Not only does it give the Cupertino based company the chance to win coveted government contracts, but it goes a long way in speaking of the high level of security offered by its devices.

Here is a brief excerpt from the release:

“The security technical implementation guide for mobile devices using Apple’s iOS6 operating system has been approved, Defense Information Systems Agency officials announced.

Approval of the guide, known as a “STIG,” means that government-issued iOS6 mobile devices are approved for use when connecting to Defense Department networks within current mobility pilots or the future mobile device management framework, officials said.”

At this time, the Defense Department has more than 600,000 commercial mobile devices in use. Of these, 470,000 are BlackBerrys with Apple accounting for 41,000. Along with this, roughly 8,000 devices use the Android operating system.

As you can see by these numbers alone, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a lot of catching up to do if it is going to track down BlackBerry. That being said, this clearance is a great place to start.

Mark Orndorff, DISA information assurance executive and program executive officer for mission assurance and network operations added the following:

“All of these pieces must be in place to allow the secure use of commercial mobile devices on department networks.”

There are not many things more important to the U.S. Department of Defense than security. This is something that must be taken seriously, down to every last detail. With this clearance, there is no denying the fact that Apple is now more trusted than ever before.

In terms of security, it appears that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is on par with BlackBerry – at least as far as the U.S. Department of Defense is concerned.

Check back here for more updates on Apple Government Contracts.

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