Blackberry Gives India Access To Servers 182
Meshach writes "As happened earlier in Saudi Arabia Blackberry has reached a deal that allows Indian authorities access to the transmissions of hand held devices. Much of the fear comes from worries about terrorists: Pakistani-based militants used mobile and satellite phones in the 2008 attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai."
How long... (Score:5, Insightful)
How long before every country decides that in order to allow RIM to operate they need to open up their servers?
Gag order (Score:5, Insightful)
The better question may be "where has this already happened with a gag order attached to the request?"
Phfft. (Score:4, Insightful)
Oh, I get it ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Oh, I get it now ...
If it is Saudi Arabia and the UAE, it is all about censorship ...
But if it is India, it is a move against the terrorists ...
It is all about spin ...
Corporate reactions will come... (Score:5, Insightful)
This is not good. Corporations should strongly consider if RIM is a viable solution at this point.
Re:Phfft. (Score:5, Insightful)
Terrorism has become the best argument for invading privacy nowadays.
Re:Sounds like a lost cause... (Score:3, Insightful)
anyone truly needing encryption will manage their own layered end-to-end solution or have someone competant handle that for them.
the rest of us will be denied our privacy and the government will come off looking like its 'tough on crime'.
oh, and a private corporation gets to keep a huge marketshare and shit on its customers. or maybe its customers' customers.
ie, business as usual.
Re:No, obviously you don't get it. (Score:4, Insightful)
Ah - and decrypting the messages would have solved the problems, as it is phyiscally impossible to write plaintext 'in-code' AND encrypting it?
The whole thing is bloody nonsense - if I were to plan any attacks, I certainly wouldn't just trust the encryption by a mobile provider as my 'safe haven'...
Re:Phfft. (Score:5, Insightful)
Plenty, since the TSA extended the definition of box cutters to include nail clippers, pencils & baby milk.
Re:Why malign Pakistan or Blackberry? (Score:2, Insightful)
Pakistan has been the (alleged and many a times proven) source of funding for most terrorist attacks. Blackberry has been the alleged/potential medium for communication for terrorists that can not be traced. I see nothing draconian about Indian government requesting Blackberry asking for tracking their data, specially when ever other telecom provider does.
Btw. even today there is a news headline about how Indian police cracked a murder victim by tracking his cellphone calls:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Infosys-manager-confesses-to-killing-wife-held/articleshow/6308212.cms [indiatimes.com]
May be Indian police men are not able to track such communications in Blackberries.
Re:How long... (Score:5, Insightful)
How long before every country decides that in order to allow RIM to operate they need to open up their servers?
The vast majority of countries with cell networks already have laws in place that require cell providers to enable lawful intercept of calls and messages. RIM were an anomaly because they provided no lawful intercept capability to these countries. Now, they do.. RIM devices in the USA and EU are already subject to lawful intercepts - these moves are just providing the same capability to other nations.
Re:Phfft. (Score:5, Insightful)
Terrorism and pedophiles has become the best argument for invading privacy nowadays.
FTFY
Re:Have to wonder ... (Score:1, Insightful)
Um... so most people are not proficient in non-native languages. Oh wow, you've really stumbled upon something new here. zzzz
Re:A very bad privacy bet in RIM's side (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Oh, I get it ... (Score:1, Insightful)
Go away troll. It's not as if the Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Atheists etc. have all got themselves castrated after 2001. What you're saying is that the Muslim population of India, which was 130 million in 2001, is now close to 700 million. What the hell - even someone with a minimum amount of common sense would shy away from posting such bullshit.
And what 'Western part of India' is Muslim? The maximum Muslim population in India is in the Northern state of Uttar Pradesh (and of course Kashmir). I have a feeling you are generating your "statistics" out of a rarely seen orifice
Re:The United States (Score:5, Insightful)
Not true - it happend long back (2002 !) (Score:4, Insightful)
The difference between US and India is that with Indian authorities this was released to the press. US instead puts a gag order and then probably gets everything they want.
NSA probably has a back room in blackberry - or has the encryption codes itself.. !
"Despite what we are hearing, and considering the public track record of this administration, I simply do not believe their claims that the NSA's spying program is really limited to foreign communications or is otherwise consistent with the NSA's charter or with FISA," Klein's wrote. "And unlike the controversy over targeted wiretaps of individuals' phone calls, this potential spying appears to be applied wholesale to all sorts of internet communications of countless citizens."
One of the documents is titled "Study Group 3, LGX/Splitter Wiring, San Francisco," and is dated 2002. The others are allegedly a design document instructing technicians how to wire up the taps, and a document that describes the equipment installed in the secret room.
Read More http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/04/70619#ixzz0wavMN6aB"