Blackberry Threatening State Security

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DUBAI - The cell phone (phone) BlackBerry smart so potential threat to national security of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The reason, a BlackBerry user data stored outside the country, and state law does not apply phone owners. Consequently, it would be difficult for state authorities to monitor the data.

These are new concerns that arise from the UAE that attempts to control information flow in the Gulf countries. A total of seven countries in the Gulf region are actively censoring sites and other forms of media if it is deemed dangerous to national security nal and local values conservative.

"Because the server BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion (RIM), is located outside the country, making it easier for them to refuse a request from authorities about the personal data of users," said Lucie Morillon, head of the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, which monitors the efforts to controlling the use of smart phones.

"The government is not able to access information on a BlackBerry as easily as they can be information from local operators," he said. This is the second major controversy over the BlackBerry in the UAE. A year ago, the largest cellular operator in the country that encourages users to install the BlackBerry software that allows outsiders a peek into their phones. The government never fully explained what happened in this action.

BlackBerry device is the only phone that operates in the region which had automatically relay information to overseas users. "Seeing how BlackBerry data managed and stored, some BlackBerry applications to enable people to realize that service lahgunakan, causing serious social and security impacts," the statement UAE regulator, last weekend.

They said the use of BlackBerry means operating outside the jurisdiction of national laws and automatically send data to foreign countries to manage commercial foreign organizations. RIM system, from the present data, such as email to the offshore network server that is separate from that operated by local mobile operators.

"Some people might not like it," said Bruce Schneier, an author and chief security technology officer at British telecom operator BT. Of particular concern is the government that they could not access that data, while there are those who can.

Cation UAE Telecommunications Regulation Authority said, the BlackBerry was launched in the UAE before the laws of safety and national security emergency imposed in 2007. However, that authority did not specify whether they are considering a direct ban on the use of BlackBerry.

RIM spokeswoman, the company Canadian BlackBerry maker, said it does not yet have any comment on this subject. New year ago, RIM has criticized the governments of the UAE because the cellular operators who are state-owned Etisalat, asked more than 145 thousand BlackBerry users in the country to install a software upgrade that is described as necessary for the improvement of services.

RIM said the tests showed, the service was in fact a spy software that can allow outsiders to access personal information stored on the phone. They immediately gave instructions to the user's details of how to remove the software.

UAE is not the first country to worry about the BlackBerry mobile phone. Bahrain, a small country in the Gulf, earlier this year threatened legal action against BlackBerry users who share their local news via chat on your BlackBerry device.

Indian government security agencies have also raised concerns about how the BlackBerry to handle the data can put a nation at risk. Morillon said, the government is increasingly worried about rising in the Gulf of BlackBerry Messenger application users are more difficult to be monitored. "This application has become a channel to spread information, which had worried the authorities," he said.

source: http://www.republika.co.id/