

Dubai and Saudi Arabia to Block BlackBerry Messaging - riffer
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/08/01/technology/AP-ML-Emirates-BlackBerry.html

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davidmurphy
Dubai and the rest of the UAE just lost a lot of international respect and
standing as a business hub, if you ask me.

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vkdelta
because of this blackberry issue?

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kloncks
...what else would it be?

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GiraffeNecktie
And it's also an issue in India:
[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-
business/B...](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-
business/BlackBerry-agrees-to-address-Indias-security-concerns-
MHA/articleshow/6232306.cms)

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todayiamme
I remember laughing my head off when it hit the papers.

In my opinion no in their right minds should never ever reveal publicly what
their security apparatus _can't_ do. They might as well have shot themselves
in the head.

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kragen
If you have a secret cryptoanalysis capability, then using data obtained from
it in court will render it no longer secret, and it is no good for
intimidating people. Having a nonsecret capability to do the same thing solves
these problems.

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todayiamme
Yes, but telling people that you _don't_ have it is another matter all
together. It's quite okay to show off your defenses, but it's a completely
different ball game when it comes to showing off your weaknesses.

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nickcharlton
It's not simply businesses that are effected. Overall, it is young people who
use BlackBerry's in the UAE.

The two carriers (Etisalat & Du) have pushed them heavily here. They allow
young people to talk to each other without actually talking - which would be
taboo.

If you go anywhere in the UAE, nearly all you can see is BlackBerry's. People
spend more than half of their time messaging each other, email or otherwise.

I think the Gulf states are trying to apply their power to make RIM play their
game. The states will succeed if RIM thinks it's a worthwhile market to stay
in.

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iuguy
This will be largely driven by morality concerns in Saudi Arabia. If they
can't monitor the comms then they can't see whether or not young unmarried men
and women are talking to each other, which means that they will.

It'll eventually get lifted I imagine, there was a similar think with
cameraphones that was ineffectively enforced years back in kingdom.

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macrael
I guess the tech they are not blocking (texts, phone, email) they feel
confident they can snoop.

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kqueue
I bet the government is interested in all the gossip that goes around on
BlackBerry service.

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danbmil99
Betcha some smart-asses took out shorts on RIM and longs on Apple right before
this bullshit.

