BlackBerry CTO Charles Eagan says no security passwords is the dream. This may sound strange coming from a technologist whose company has invested billions in security and recently opened a new lab and business unit focused solely on research and development in the cybersecurity space. But he makes a compelling argument. "Passwords are painful and not that effective, and multi-factor authentication just makes it more complicated to compromise," Eagan told SDxCentral. "People do things to avoid having to remember passwords, or they take shortcuts. Our real vision is: we want more security with less friction. We would love it if you never had to use a password, and you had more security at the same time."

BlackBerry has set up a business unit focused on cybersecurity research and development. The company said its BlackBerry Labs unit will include a team of over 120 software developers, architects, researchers, product leads and security experts. BlackBerry said the new lab will have a focus on data science and machine learning and aims to "investigate, incubate and facilitate" technologies for security and data privacy for its customers. Initial projects from BlackBerry Labs will focus on machine-learning approaches to security for BlackBerry's Cylance, enterprise and QNX business units. While BlackBerry is still best known as an early smartphone pioneer, it no longer makes devices (these are made under licence by TCL Communication), and now focuses on security software for smartphones and the internet of things, embedded systems and autonomous cars.

BlackBerry Limited BB has created Advanced Technology Development Labs (BlackBerry Labs). This is going to be a new business unit operating at the forefront of R&D in the cybersecurity landscape. With this strategic move, the company aims to ensure that its customers are protected across all endpoints and verticals in the IoT. Headed by chief technology officer, BlackBerry Labs will include a team of more than 120 software developers, architects, researchers, product leads and security experts. They will work toward the common goal of identifying, exploring and creating new technologies to ensure that the company is on the cutting edge of security innovation.