The IT Nerd

Sucks to be RIM. The Globe And Mail is reporting that effective May 1st, Blackberry users in the UAE are facing significant restrictions:

Under the new policies, Du and its rival Etisalat — both majority owned by the government — are required to limit access to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to companies with 20 user accounts or more. That system provides the most secure communication on the handheld devices and is used by many international companies and government agencies.

Other users would need to rely on a less-secure system known as the BlackBerry Internet Service that experts say could be easier for authorities to monitor. Unlike the more secure BES system, which routes encrypted data through company servers abroad, the BIS system runs over the regular Internet.

So Blackberries aren’t banned, but the fact that they’ve restricted how they can be used. In my mind, this is the thin edge of the wedge. Expect more to come in the near future in the form of snooping on BIS traffic. From there, who knows? But I guarantee it won’t end here.

If anyone was wondering what RIM’s response to the UAE and Saudi Arabia banning Blackberry services in whole or in part was going to be, here’s what the Globe And Mail printed this afternoon:

“While RIM does not disclose confidential regulatory discussions that take place with any government, RIM assures its customers that it is committed to delivering highly secure and innovative products that satisfy the needs of both customers and governments,” the Canadian tech company said in a statement.

I think that translates to “we’re not going to back down.” So it looks like we’re into one of those staring contests. The question is, who’s going to blink first. My guess is that it will be the UAE as the US State Department is piling on the pressure:

The United States said it was disappointed and that the Gulf nation was setting a dangerous precedent in limiting freedom of information.

“We are committed to promoting the free flow of information,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. “We think it’s integral to an innovative economy.”

Over to you UAE.

UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal has more:

The BlackBerry network is designed “to exclude the capability for RIM or any third party to read encrypted information under any circumstances,” RIM’s statement said. Moreover, the location of BlackBerry’s servers doesn’t matter, the company said, because the data on them can’t be deciphered without a decryption key.

“RIM assures customers that it will not compromise the integrity and security of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution,” the statement said.

I guess that UAE Blackberry users are going to have to go through withdrawal unless the UAE backs down.

I just got wind that the United Arab Emirates is about to ban the Blackberry via a posting on the Telecommunication Regulation Authority’s website. Here’s their reasoning:

All Blackberry services fall within the UAE regulatory framework developed by the TRA since 2007, however because of Blackberry’s technical configuration, some Blackberry services operate beyond the enforcement these regulations.

Blackberry data is immediately exported off-shore, where it is managed by a foreign, commercial organization. Blackberry data services are currently the only data services operating in the UAE where this is the case.

Today’s decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain Blackberry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.

If that sounds familiar, it should. Similar arguments were made by India when they got upset about the fact that they couldn’t see what Blackberry users were doing. This decision takes effect on October 11th, which may give RIM time to make this problem go away. Otherwise, a lot of Blackberry addicts in the Middle East will be going through withdrawal.

UPDATE: It looks like Saudi Arabia has joined the party and banned “Blackberry messaging” according to the Toronto Star. The ban will start “later this month.”