The latest BlackBerry and Samsung smartphones have been given the green light for accessing US Department of Defense networks.It paves the way for a wider choice of devices by military personnel, while still ensuring that potentially top secret information is kept secure.The Pentagon said it expects to clear Apple mobile devices using iOS 6 in the next few weeks.Samsung confirmed its flagship handset, the Galaxy S4, had become the first Android device to get approval.The device uses the company's extra-secure Knox technology to meet the US government's tough security requirements.Blackberry's new Q10 and Z10 phones, as well as its PlayBook tablets, also got approval.The Department of Defense currently has around 600,000 employees using smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. The vast majority are already BlackBerry devices.
"This is a significant step towards establishing a multi-vendor environment that supports a variety of state-of-the-art devices and operating systems," said Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a Pentagon spokesman.
"We look forward to additional vendors also participating in this process."
The announcement means groups within the Pentagon can now purchase the device most appropriate for their work.
To ensure security, mobile devices and operating systems go through a review process approved by the Defense Information Systems Agency.
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