I was astonished to learn that several countries – India, UAE, and some others – recently threatened to ban the Blackberry email communication service unless RIM allows for wiretapping it. RIM’s Blackberry is well-known and highly valued by corporate users for its superior data encryption. It is obviously so good that even large intelligence agencies with virtually unlimited founding are unable to hack into Blackberry emails.
The encryption applies to the communication path between the handheld and the Blackberry Enterprise Server and the associated email server, usually located in corporate server farms (for enterprise solution) or in one of RIMs data centers (in UK and Canada, for the low-end solution).
I was pondering for some time struggling to understand my own surprise (you know that feeling?) and finally I got the clue. Consider the alternatives to RIMs leading instant email service: the regular POP/SMTP mail (e.g. Apples iPhone), webmail, Facebook messages, instant messengers like Skype and ICQ, and many others. Using a dedicated device (like an Android phone) or just a web browser on any handheld device, all of those options are readily available to any potential terrorist out there. Why are the aforementioned countries not threatening to ban those services, too?
The only logical answer must be that those services are already altogether systematically compromised. To me, the RIM affair reveals the fact that literally *every* message is being routed through one or even several intelligence agencies. Not a single communication protocol is safe anymore.
Recently, RIM and UAE agreed to continue Blackberry services in the Emirates. The only logical conclusion is that Blackberry is now in the same wiretapping pool as all other communication services. Say bye-bye to Blackberry security–it's gone for good.
If you are not frightened yet, you should see “The Life of Others”.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
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