Saudi Arabia government ordered mobile operators to stop the BlackBerry (BB) services across their territories. This adds to the tension between Saudi Arabia's and smartphone maker, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM).
Arab Saudi government demanded greater access to BB data sent to their server in Canada. The Saudi government news agency, SPA, reported that the country's telecommunications regulator has informed the cellular service providers that they must stop the Blackberry services starting on 6 August.
It is said in the statement of the SPA, the suspension of the BlackBerry service be carried out because the service does not meet the requirements of current regulations. RIM parties also could not be immediately reached for comment. BlackBerry service ban in Saudi Arabia following several days after neighboring Emirates Arab announced plans to close an electronic mail services, messaging, and web browsing on the BlackBerry started in October.
India is also in talks with RIM about how BlackBerry user's information is managed. Like the UAE, which emphasizes security issues in encouraging greater access to information transmitted by mobile phones that are stored in a computer company in Canada. Saudi Arabia does not describe the concerns about the difficulty of controlling access to government information, although the government is also wary of security threats.
Like in the UAE, in Arab Saudi, the Blackberry smartphone is very popular mobile phone that is used by employers and young people using smartphones technologies as a way to avoid attention from the government. Earlier on 3 August, RIM argued that they and India government agree to enhance supervision of the client company. But talks to access e-mail and other data sent through mobile phones is still rolling.
"We will not compromise on corporate property security of electronic mail" RIM India said, Satchit Gayakwad. India RIM states comply with the requirements of the regulatory body in terms of security, but also look at the needs of customers for privacy. Analysts say, RIM expansion into new markets are growing rapidly and a new dispute with the UAE public companies threatened a wave of regulatory challenges. RIM has forced commitment to the security of information against the wishes of local law enforcement. RIM said, has held talks with more than 175 countries where they operate.
Gayakwad did say that the Government of India has another way to solve the security problem if something happens. India and UAE is not alone in wanting more control over the BlackBerry's message. Bahrain also has threatened to take strong action on the spread of news using the device.
So, should Malaysia also take the same approach out of security fear?
At this moment, Malaysia has yet to decide if actions are necessary to tackle the Blackberry security concerns while India has jumped onto the Middle East bandwagon in fear of militant threats.
The old Minister who earlier ruled out any plan to ban the smartphone in Malaysia, has said his ministry is currently reevaluating Blackberry services. He said that my employer ("the one that will not be name") is currently gathering detailed information which will be evaluated to further decide if a ban on Blackberry services is necessary.
President of Malaysian Mobile Content Providers Association, was quoted as saying in The Star: "Malaysia has about 1.5 million Blackberry users. There would be heavy opposition if it was banned."
In order to decide whether Malaysia should be doing the same thing, let see the scenario in India, which is quite similar to Malaysia in terms of trying to grow its ICT market and to increase mobile and broadband penetration:
India Home Ministry will meet with their local mobile operators Thursday to discuss permission of access to security agencies to encrypted Blackberry messages, the AFP reported. The country has been battling insurgencies from the Muslim-majority Kashmir and the northeastern Maoists and, therefore, is highly concerned with the new technology offered by Blackberry services.
It was claimed that it could be used by militants to communicate without getting detected. India law stipulates that phone companies have the responsibility to ensure intelligence agencies can lawfully monitor data handled by them. India’s threat to block BlackBerry e-mail and messaging services could widen to affect other telecom and Internet providers including Google.
India’s home ministry warned that it would cut BlackBerry business e-mail and messaging services if its manufacturer, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM), did not make them accessible to security agencies by Aug. 31. The government fears that the BlackBerry encryption could provide cover for terrorist activity.
A government source said India would pursue any other companies, including Google, to keep mobile and Internet markets safe from militants. The 10 armed gunmen who attacked Mumbai in November 2008, killing 166 people, used cell and satellite phones to communicate with their handlers. India is also battling insurgencies in Kashmir, the northeast, and a Maoist rebellion in many others parts of the country.
It is not yet clear whether the home ministry’s threat will lead to a BlackBerry ban in India. For the time being, India and RIM are locked in a standoff.
The company has responded to the government’s request with a decisive “no.” It would not compromise the security of its service; nor would it give any countries special treatment.
But the threat presents a dilemma to RIM. India has the fastest growing telecoms market in the world, and it has become an increasingly important market to the Canadian company as it has lost market share in the United States to rival Google Inc.'s Android and Apple Inc.'s iPhone.
Indeed, some 1 million of BlackBerry’s 41 million total customers live in India, with more buying into the technology every day.
For India, this is a government-mandated death threat. it is somewhere between very difficult and impossible for RIM to comply. The government’s threat applies to a system used by corporate BlackBerry users, which requires special software to connect to the company’s e-mail system. The vast majority of BlackBerry users in India are on this system.
India, for its part, does not want to dampen its appeal as a destination for high-tech companies or business people for whom secure communications is essential. So far, no country that has threatened to cut BlackBerry services has done so. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and RIM reached a last minute decision that allowed BlackBerry to continue operations.
The UAE still called for a ban on BlackBerry e-mail, messaging, and Internet services, saying the devices "allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns." It has threatened to shut off the services in October unless it works out a compromise with RIM.
For Malaysia, I personally feel that more study study and study should be done before deciding whether to ban or not. Public consultation should be open to public, academicians and experts to get their views and opinions. In addition, we do need to collaborate with other countries which have the technology experts to find ways to encrypted the blackberry thing if we want to have a different technology standard and approach for our country and for national security.Governments probably would face too much resistance if they tried to ban the devices in Malaysia, Rest easy, it doesn't look likely that many – or even any -- governments in Asia, including Malaysia that will follow the lead of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to ban BlackBerry smartphone services, according to a survey across the region. Given the ubiquity and popularity of the devices on the part of businessmen and government leaders as well, it would probably be impossible.
Unlike the iPhone and other smartphones, which typically send data through open networks, the BlackBerry uses sophisticated encryption devices run through their Canadian servers that not only raise security concerns over potential terrorists but also keep governments from listening in both to circumscribe freedom of speech and to thwart corruption.
The customer creates his own security key and there appears no way for eavesdroppers to break into the system. The Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion, which manufacturers the devices, said it can't even read user transmissions. BlackBerry's security model is very different from others. It is end-to-end and the encryption is so strong nobody knows how to monitor it. In addition to its popularity as a technology marvel, the BlackBerry's encryption system keeps prying eyes away from sensitive company machinations. One company executive for an unnamed conglomerate told that after authorities had arrested one of their top officials on bribery charges, the conglomerate switched all of its communications devices to BlackBerry smartphones to hide their traffic from government investigators.
It is unknown how many companies across the region have followed that path. I personally believe they will have trouble pulling the trigger to shut down BlackBerry. Most governments in the world rely on BlackBerry, including in this country.
In the end, Thank God I used Apple :)
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