Dubai Police Accuses U.S., Israel of Spying with BlackBerry

junecheng2010 · 02-22-2011

Concerns about spying by U.S. and Israeli agents spurred the recent crackdown on BlackBerry services in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai's police chief said.

"The Unites States is the primary beneficiary of having no controls over the BlackBerry, as it has an interest to spy on the U.A.E.," said Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, police chief of Dubai. "The West has accused us of curbing the liberties of BlackBerry users, while America, Israel, Britain and other countries are allowed access to all transferred data."

Tamim also added that the proposed BlackBerry bans are meant to "control false rumors and defamation of public figures due to the absence of surveillance."

The U.A.E. has scheduled a broad ban on BlackBerry email, messaging and web services to starting October 11, unless security officials can gain access to encrypted data passed over the devices.

The proposed crackdown will affect an estimated 500,000 local subscribers and could curtail business and tourism in the Arab economic hub. Officials are still in negotiation with BlackBerry maker Research in Motion to resolve the issue.

This is not the first altercation that RIM has had with foreign governments over the issue of accessing and monitoring encrypted data. Similar demands has been echoed by many countries, including India and Saudi Arabia.

India gave RIM a 60-day window to implement solutions that would allow authorities to monitor BlackBerry data. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has allowed BlackBerry services to continue for the moment, citing "positive developments" after negotiations.

But Tamim's comments implicate BlackBerry as a tool for espionage, indicating the hard line that the U.A.E. authorities are taking about security. They could also show that negotiations with the country may be tough-going for the BlackBerry maker.

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