Cooperation with Indian Gov. India threatens to ban 1m BlackBerrys. High performance access to file storage The Indian government is meeting with its network operators tomorrow, and is fully prepared to ban BlackBerry services if a timetable for lawful interceptions can't be established.
Until now India has been following the negotiated route, trying to convince RIM to allow its security forces access to BlackBerry communications. But now the government is threatening a ban, Reuters reports. This is unsurprising given how successful the same approach proved for Saudi Arabia. Use An iPhone? Yup, The Government Tracks That. Last week, an Indian hacker crew successfully broke into a secured Indian military government network.
The group, the Lords of Dharmaraja, posted documents that infer Apple, Nokia, and Research In Motion gave the Indian government backdoor access to their devices in exchange for mobile phone market rights. Indian government officials say the files are forgeries; however, they fit in perfectly with what we know about mobile phone surveillance in 2012. Fast Company has reported extensively on smartphone and computer security fears. In the documents, which have been posted on multiple mirrors, India military intelligence refers multiple times to a system known as RINOA SUR.
According to ZDNet India's Manan Kakkar, the RINOA portion of the acronym refers to “RIM, Nokia, Apple,” while the SUR portion is unknown. The pervasiveness of government smartphone and computer surveillance in the United States is unknown. Unfortunately, this isn't just tinfoil hat chat. RIM allows interim data interception in India. A list of countries considering BlackBerry bans. A list of countries considering BlackBerry bans over security concerns with data routed abroad: India - The country of almost 1.2 billion people has threatened to block corporate e-mail and messaging services unless RIM makes data more easily available to its intelligence and law enforcement agencies by Aug. 31.
RIM Vice President Robert E Crowe met Home Secretary G K Pillai in Delhi on Friday for half an hour and said he was "an optimistic guy", perhaps indicating that some solution would be worked out. Next, the government may ask Google Inc. and Skype SA for greater access to encrypted information sent over their e-mail and phone services. Indonesia - The Southeast Asian country wants RIM to place a server in its country because it fears that e-mails could be intercepted as they pass through RIM's servers overseas. It is considering banning the service, but has no firm plans. BlackBerry encryption 'too secure': National security vs. consumer privacy. Research in Motion, the creator of the widely used enterprise-come-consumer BlackBerry device, has an uncertain position in India.
The Indian government's internal security and intelligence services cannot break the encryption of the device, which makes countering terror threats and national security matters difficult - especially for a region which faces constant threats and attacks from domestic Maoist insurgents and extremist Islamic groups. Nearly two years ago, around 170 people were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks which lasted two days, and was reported primarily by citizens on the ground through citizen journalism; posting updates to Twitter and Facebook through their mobile devices. Read more: Mumbai attacks coverage demostrates (good and bad) maturation point of social media (ZDNet) The encryption key developed by BlackBerry's manufacturers was partly designed to ensure secrecy during corporate business deals as so they were not compromised.
It's a tricky one, I will admit. Security experts release software to attack Android phones. By Daniel Eran Dilger A tool for attacking devices running Google's Android operating system was released by security researchers today at the Defcon hackers conference in Las Vegas.
Blast! Blackberry blanked? « CRITique. BlackBerry Bold (Vodafone UK) Business travellers to the Middle East will know that taxi drivers in the region often need a little assistance.
There does not appear to be any local requirements to pass examinations, yet alone anything as thorough as “The Knowledge” in London. As a result, I have relied on Google Maps on my Vodafone Blackberry Bold many times to show a driver where I need to go. This may be the only useful function above that of a standard mobile phone that a Blackberry Bold will serve for visitors to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from October. According to announcements made by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) on 1 August 2010 and 2 August 2010, BlackBerry Messenger, E-Mail and Web-browsing services are to be suspended from 11 October 2010. From a telecommunications regulatory viewpoint, these statements are extremely disappointing. BlackBerry encryption 'too secure': National security vs. consumer privacy.
Blackberry encryption and the right to privacy « Media Law and Freedom of Expression Blog. Digital communications from mobile phones are routed through powerful computers called ‘exchange servers’.
Research In Motion (RIM) based in Ontario, Canada runs the exchange servers for its business-friendly Blackberry mobile device. The company has built a reputation for secure communications, basing all its exchange servers in Canada, much to the consternation of governments around the world, who would like to listen in on these communications. For example, if you were to send an email from your Blackberry, the email goes through as a heavily encrypted* signal to exchange servers in Canada and is then sent encrypted to the recipient. This encryption is difficult to break without the right encryption keys and hence the Blackberry smartphone has a reputation of being secure for communication. There have been suggestions that RIM has a deal with Russian and Chinese authorities concerning the decryption of Blackberry communications. RIM Won't Compromise On Security And Privacy Over UAE Ban - Techweet.