The Emirates' looming ban on BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web browsing services will extend to foreign visitors too, said the country's telecom regulator, raising the stakes in its dispute with the maker of the popular business tools.
Device maker Research in Motion Ltd. has so far declined to comment on the plan to suspend the services, which Emirati authorities announced Sunday.
The UAE contends some BlackBerry features operate outside the country's laws, "causing judicial, social and national security concerns." At the heart of their concerns is the way the BlackBerry handles data, which is encrypted and routed through the RIM's servers overseas, where it cannot be monitored for illegal activity.
Critics of the crackdown say it is also a way for the country's conservative government to further control content they deem politically or morally objectionable. The smart phones enjoy a following not only among the region's professionals, but also among tech-savvy youth who see their relatively secure communication channels as a way to avoid unwanted government attention.
The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority had left the question of phones run by foreign operators unanswered in announcing the ban, scheduled to take effect Oct. 11.
But in an e-mailed response to questions Monday, the regulator said the service suspension would apply to all users in the country, including visitors using roaming services on foreign BlackBerry phones.
"Roaming for BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry e-mail and BlackBerry Web browsing will also be suspended," the TRA said in its unsigned e-mail. "They won't be able to use the mentioned services in (the) UAE as it's suspended (in) the country."
That would put BlackBerry service out of reach for business travelers and others passing through the Mideast's busiest airport in the international business hub of Dubai, which averages about 100,000 passengers a day.
The UAE has singled out BlackBerry devices for scrutiny before.
Last year, RIM criticized a directive by the UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company's BlackBerry users to install software described as a service upgrade. Tests showed the download actually installed spy software on users' phones that could allow authorities to access private information stored on the handsets. It strongly distanced itself from Etisalat's decision and told users how to remove the software.
The TRA says there are 500,000 BlackBerry subscribers in the UAE.
Telecommunication officials in Saudi Arabia have also said they are planning to curtail use of the BlackBerry messaging service, but not other services on the phones.
Showing posts with label Blackberry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blackberry. Show all posts
Monday, 2 August 2010
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Etisalat BlackBerry patch designed for surveillance
From ArabianBusiness.com 14 July 09
========================================
The battery-sapping "performance patch" that Etisalat sent to its BlackBerry subscribers over the last few days was designed to give the UAE operator the ability to read its customers emails and text messages, a Qatar-based software expert told CommsMEA yesterday.
Last week, Etisalat told its 100,000 BlackBerry subscribers that a "performance enhancement patch" would be sent to them to "provide the best BlackBerry service and ultimate experience". But users who downloaded the software complained of dramatically reduced battery life and slower than usual performance of their devices.
Nigel Gourlay, a Doha-based Sun-certified Java programmer who has been developing open source software for 15 years, analysed the patch after it was posted on BlackBerry’s community support forum and he said that once installed, it potentially gives Etisalat the power to view all emails and text messages sent from the BlackBerry.
“I don’t think it’s been designed for a large scale deployment,” he said. “They have released it as an upgrade across all UAE BlackBerry handsets, all of which have tried to phone home to this one registration server at the same time, and that has effectively brought the server to its knees. When the BlackBerry cannot register itself, it tries again and this causes the battery drain.”
Gourlay pointed out that by default the system is turned off and when it installs the only message that is sent is an initial registration message, and that later on, Etisalat could turn on the systems “one by one”.
Once installed, one of the possible commands that can be sent to the device is "start", which would then cause any subsequent message to be forwarded to an Etisalat website.
Gourlay said the patch was stamped with “SS8.com”, the name of a US-based software developer that describes itself as an electronic surveillance solutions company that develops products that “allow intelligence agencies to recognise, monitor, investigate and prevent criminal activity”.
It appears as though the use of such software is widespread among telecom operators, and according to SS8’s website, its products are used by “some of the largest service providers in the world”.
On Sunday Etisalat issued a two paragraph statement apologising for “a phased software upgrade…that led to extra consumption of the handset battery”. It described the patch as a “routine upgrade process”, but said it had stopped issuing it as a precautionary measure.
At the time of writing the operator had not responded to requests sent yesterday (Monday) for further details about the precise purpose of the patch or Etisalat’s relationship with “lawful interception solutions” firm SS8.
SS8 established its presence in the UAE in February this year when it acquired OCI Mobile, a technology provider that specialised in providing surveillance solutions to government organisations.
According to SS8’s website, the founder of OCI Mobile, Derek Roga, developed technology for smartphone interception and in 2005 he was tasked with introducing the firm’s BlackBerry solution to the Middle East. Roga was also the founder of Dubai-based EMS Mobile, which became RIM’s strategic channel partner for the Middle East region and Etisalat’s partner when the operator launched the BlackBerry in May 2006.
Roga did not respond to messages left at his office in the UAE, and no one from SS8’s US office replied to any messages from CommsMEA at the time of writing.
“The interesting thing is that no one would have known about it if they’d set up the registration server correctly,” Gourlay added. “The whole thing wouldn’t have been reported apart from the battery drain. I think that this whole system has been designed for law enforcement agencies to be deployed on a few dozen suspects’ BlackBerry devices.”
RIM was also unavailable for comment.
========================================
The battery-sapping "performance patch" that Etisalat sent to its BlackBerry subscribers over the last few days was designed to give the UAE operator the ability to read its customers emails and text messages, a Qatar-based software expert told CommsMEA yesterday.
Last week, Etisalat told its 100,000 BlackBerry subscribers that a "performance enhancement patch" would be sent to them to "provide the best BlackBerry service and ultimate experience". But users who downloaded the software complained of dramatically reduced battery life and slower than usual performance of their devices.
Nigel Gourlay, a Doha-based Sun-certified Java programmer who has been developing open source software for 15 years, analysed the patch after it was posted on BlackBerry’s community support forum and he said that once installed, it potentially gives Etisalat the power to view all emails and text messages sent from the BlackBerry.
“I don’t think it’s been designed for a large scale deployment,” he said. “They have released it as an upgrade across all UAE BlackBerry handsets, all of which have tried to phone home to this one registration server at the same time, and that has effectively brought the server to its knees. When the BlackBerry cannot register itself, it tries again and this causes the battery drain.”
Gourlay pointed out that by default the system is turned off and when it installs the only message that is sent is an initial registration message, and that later on, Etisalat could turn on the systems “one by one”.
Once installed, one of the possible commands that can be sent to the device is "start", which would then cause any subsequent message to be forwarded to an Etisalat website.
Gourlay said the patch was stamped with “SS8.com”, the name of a US-based software developer that describes itself as an electronic surveillance solutions company that develops products that “allow intelligence agencies to recognise, monitor, investigate and prevent criminal activity”.
It appears as though the use of such software is widespread among telecom operators, and according to SS8’s website, its products are used by “some of the largest service providers in the world”.
On Sunday Etisalat issued a two paragraph statement apologising for “a phased software upgrade…that led to extra consumption of the handset battery”. It described the patch as a “routine upgrade process”, but said it had stopped issuing it as a precautionary measure.
At the time of writing the operator had not responded to requests sent yesterday (Monday) for further details about the precise purpose of the patch or Etisalat’s relationship with “lawful interception solutions” firm SS8.
SS8 established its presence in the UAE in February this year when it acquired OCI Mobile, a technology provider that specialised in providing surveillance solutions to government organisations.
According to SS8’s website, the founder of OCI Mobile, Derek Roga, developed technology for smartphone interception and in 2005 he was tasked with introducing the firm’s BlackBerry solution to the Middle East. Roga was also the founder of Dubai-based EMS Mobile, which became RIM’s strategic channel partner for the Middle East region and Etisalat’s partner when the operator launched the BlackBerry in May 2006.
Roga did not respond to messages left at his office in the UAE, and no one from SS8’s US office replied to any messages from CommsMEA at the time of writing.
“The interesting thing is that no one would have known about it if they’d set up the registration server correctly,” Gourlay added. “The whole thing wouldn’t have been reported apart from the battery drain. I think that this whole system has been designed for law enforcement agencies to be deployed on a few dozen suspects’ BlackBerry devices.”
RIM was also unavailable for comment.
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