Andrew Cuomo

According to the NY Daily News, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo refuses to use his state-issued email address for staff communication, opting for the secure services of his BlackBerry instead. In-person chats or phone calls are still his first choice, but if that isn't possible the staffers are instructed to use PIN messaging on their BlackBerry to contact him.

Why? Because, according to the Daily News, he believes the messages are untraceable - meaning no one can snoop and there is no paper trail. Only those close to the Governor know his PIN to get in touch with him, and if too many people get a hold of it, he just swaps out devices (thus a new PIN) and starts fresh. This is all contradictory to the fact that Cuomo had stated he would run the most transparent government in New York history.

Unfortunately for the Governor this isn't the case however. Both BBM and PIN messages are encrypted, yes, but they can still be recovered and unscrambled should there be a need.

Many elected officials have been nabbed in the past either through email, text messages or the like. Cuomo is trying making it a point to steer clear of any problems, mostly thanks to BBM and PIN messaging. PIN messages are as secure as it gets, but while the messages are private, RIM still has the ability to dig them up even after deleted from a device. The information and data that is sent back and forth between the Governor and his staff could always be subject to investigation by authorities, so while using these methods does have a bit more privacy than email, it's still not a foolproof method for hiding anything controversial.

If the users are on a BES the messages could all be stored if IT has enabled logging, and even if on a BIS the messages are still never gone for good.

While some think Cuomo is playing it smart using these methods, others argue that it's secretive and against his promises of a transparent government. 

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Source: NY Daily News

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