A business associate of mine from INDIA has told me the same. Security risks blah blah !

In other words: The encryption that RIM uses makes it impossible for the government to spy on the data going in and out of the users handhelds.

Government agencies all over the world know how Blackberries operate. RIM has a great reputation with device security and handling confidential information, which is why many corporations and agencies use them.

Guess what UAE? There is a risk with any type of communication device because there is no such thing as 100% secure. If you're looking for some device that is better than a Blackberry in terms of security, keep looking.
The only way you can be 100% sure that information is safe, is if you're in some underground bunker face to face with no electronic devices.

Doesn't the Commander and Chief of the Free World use a Blackberry?

This is why we should belt out the song "Proud to be an American" (or a different song if you're in another country that doesn't have goofy legislation like this).

From a security standpoint, I understand the fact that the data is going through offshore servers is a worry IF this was just for government use. It would fall under the same criteria such as the US military uses in only using 'US made' equipment.

The matter here really sucks for regular users who are being screwed over by their country.

If you read the article, it also mentions the update that the country tried pushing to spy on the phones. Seriously?

By the way the word 'secutiry' should be replaced with 'security' in the CB article ;)

I think it is more of a matter of control than security. RIM devices are outside of their government's control. The devices themselves aren't a security risk.

This isn't about the security of an individual's data... this is about a government engaged in social engineering and their inability to control/monitor those data services. As it says, "BlackBerry operates beyond the jurisdiction of national legislation" means they can't monitor their populations communications.

It's not a security issue as far as data security, it's a security issue as far as content control by a corrupt psuedotheocracy.

This is the UAE we're talking about:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8161190.stm

Governments hate BlackBerries because the data is securely encrypted and almost impossible to break. They can't just read the contents of our texts and emails on Berries like they can on ordinary cell phones.

Well I'm from UAE & I'm myself wondering why they wanna access the encrypted files. I believe this another drama or a reveange for last year's crisis when etisalat has spread this spyware through blackberry users saying that it is for security purposes. I really hate our service provider Etisalat I hope RIM wins in this issue cuz I would really throw my bb if etisalat will have the ability to access the encrypted data.

Yes, I can see blackberry being a security risk...... to dictators :) I bet you is to do with people posting things on twitter as well. They probably can't control that either.
I've grown up trough one dictatorship and I hope no more people have to grow up trough that.

This will sure have after effects in India as well. Indian government has been pressing RIM to provide with decryption code to monitor the traffic. So far RIM has not budged! Guess these are all side effects of terrorism!!

I live in the USA. Why should I care about this?

After reading the news online, it turns out that the cellular provider tricked the population to install an 'upgrade' that allowed government spying.

RIM responded with a countermeasure and criticism: earning the ire of the authorities. No judgement... just the facts please.

UAE is run by a dictatorship and its true that many has mentioned that its a 'security risk' cos they fail to spy on their own users. Period. What other security risks can a Blackberry pose? Having the USA gather confidential national secrets? Bug off, then don't use the service.
Bear in mind that UAE is a hotbed of religious-based terrorism and the majority population of UAE profess a religion that promotes terrorism, kidnapping and killing innocent people even of their own kind.

I'm not in the authority to say this, but in my personal opinion, RIM doesn't need their business.

Period!

My advice for people in this contries would be: don't install anything in your blackberry other then the official RIM apps, set a password, enable encryption, and possibly upgrade to an OS from a different carrier.
Is RIM storing anything though or data just passes trough their NOCs?

Anybody see the movie Eagle Eye ?? that would scary if some govermentcould actually do things like that...

They probably all own one and are on them as we speak! lmao This is rediculous...I'm sure if they had founded the technology we wouldn't be having this discussion :)

My recommendation to people in this country is to get out of this country. It's not good, and if you have a brain in your head you'd realize this. There's far better alternatives. Even european nations, suffering from political and financial crisis, are better alternatives. Otherwise, come to North America and get out of there.

This is a golden opportunity for Steve Jobs and various Droid manufacturers to plead their case for making their respective "smart" phones the "official" phone of the UAE.
They can cite things like "Our phones are much less secure the RIM's and would therefore be less of a security risk."

This is so funny it could actually happen.

Looks good

Their planning to nuke someone and don't want RIM to find out..... Hehe…

x

Oppressive regimes everywhere, not just UAE will fear any co which empowers its citizens with information security. This situation is quite similar to the one Google faced recently in China albeit the technology is different. I'd say the issue is virtually the same. It's a rare vote of confidence in something that RIM does well, albeit an indirect and reflexive one, at this time of bad headlines for RIM mostly. Now about those apostrophes! They're meant to be used in contracted words - I.e. two words made into one, like "it's" and to denote possession in certain cases - like "her's"

My posts aren't showing up on the mobile web for some reason.

@Funkydog
Do you even know what religion do they follow ? Do not speak stuff just based on bullshit what others may tell u. I stay in the UAE.I stay around people 24/7 who follow 'Islam' and as you mention definitely 'Majority' of the population do not promote terrorism,kidnapping, killing or whatever it is you mention. Do you even know the killing/kidnapping rates of UAE per year? It's much much lesser compared to your western countries & other islamic countries who end up taking religion in the wrong way. UAE amongst all the other middle east/islamic/gulf countries happen to be the most cosmopolitan country where people of all religions are treated equally with utmost respect. I agree the rules are a little crazy here but if you wanna receive all the pay benefits (reason why majority of people migrate here) you gotta follow the rules. To get something you gotta loose something !!

Regarding the blackberry security risk thingy, they haven't taken any measure till now. But anyhow why make it a big deal when we BB users have nothing to hide/worry about. Let the govt get a big slap on their face when they take unwanted measures & end up just wasting their time & money.

I'm not 100% sure on how data is handled with RIM but if they give the UAE or any other country an encryption key, wouldn't that open up an oppertunity for them to use that to peek in on bb users in other countries? Even if the encryption is varied from country to country or even carrier to carrier, once they have the key they can alter it to decode other carriers/countries data. like I said, I don't know how it all works but it seems like there would be a way to us it to spy on others. I may have nothing to hide but I sure as hell don't want some one spying on me either.

I have a 10 hour layover in Abu Dhabi this Saturday night so I certainly hope they can hold off on this ban another week at least!

United Arab Emirates, who the fk are they anyways......

Undoubtedly it is a national security risk. For those of you who don't know blackberry phones (bbm and email) was used by the terrorists who killed 200 plus innocents people in the Mumbai attack in 2008. The government weren't able to intercept the message nor decode them. If RIM doesn't provide decryption keys the service should be banned in the interests of national security. There is no point sharing information at a later date since the damage would have already been done.

Read in a Reuters news release that the data from UAE is roted through RIM servers in the UK, not Waterloo, Canada. FYI...RIM does not route all their data through Waterloo, rather a few strategic geograhic locations in the world.

Seems UAE is not comfortable with a free world concept...

As a Dubai resident, I hate the thought that the government wants to read my BBM, but we also have to consider what they're up against.

This country has seen high-profile assassinations, terror threats, money laundering, corruption, etc. I kinda see their concern that BB is somewhat clandestine.

Also, from a legal perspective, SMS has been used in court because the records can be taken by subpena from the telco. I don't know if there is a legal precedent for BBM being used in the same way.

Another thought - I don't consider anything digital to be private. Email can be hacked. Computers can be hacked or stolen. Hard drives and USBs too. Maybe that's why I'm not losing sleep over this.

Article about the fight that the Indian government had with RIM on a similar issue back in 2008.

http://tinyurl.com/38ccq9c

The UAE, great as it is for many things, has strict censorship rules, which include the media. There's little objectivity or impartiality unfortunately, so this reaction was to be expected for two reasons:

1. The moral issue - controlling what people think, say and might do.
2. Etisalat's hold on the telecoms market - they have been blocking Skype etc, claiming it illegally deprives the company of revenue. The irony of this point is that I have business people requesting to be called on Skype because the quality of the landline is so poor!

Stop BBs, and they'll be other ways for the subversive elements to communicate. Invisible ink; carrier pigeons; the human voice.

Since the UAE is intent on maintaining a status as a regional financial hub it would be wise to keep the RIM channels open.

I bet "Business Friendly Bahrain" is laughing itself stupid right now.