U.S. and Israel spying behind BlackBerry woe: Dubai police

U.S. and Israel spying behind BlackBerry woe: Dubai police

www.reuters.com

Concerns over Israeli access to BlackBerry data, and the use of the device by the United States to spy on the United Arab Emirates are behind the Gulf state's moves to curb the smartphone, Dubai's police chief said.

"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 added.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 3-9-2010 by [davinci]]

The BlackBerry is touted as being the most secure option amoung smartphones. From the start I had to wonder why the west had nothing to say about access to the supposedly encrypted messages. It is now being released that that the BlackBerry has been comprimised by western intelligence agencies and now other country's want part of the action.

The story was sold by the MSM as UAE and India wanting access to Blackberry data and that the maker, RIM, couldn't violate the security that it's customers expected. The truth is that these countries want the same access that the US (and others) already have.

This is by no means an improvement, but at least it is the full story.

Didn't Blackberry/RIM argue that their systems were secure? Wasn't the company's stance that to allow that security to be comprimised would damage the company's image/market share?

Once again, BS across the board. It's not that RIM/Blackberry protects thier customers sensitive data, it's that they don't want to share.

The good news is that there is now proof that all smartphones are monitored (if the most secure option is cracked then so are all the rest).

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 3-9-2010 by [davinci]]

The new iPhones have INSTANT picture in picture video chat...
If those feeds can be hacked, and I assure you even over a SSL-VPN, then whoever is spying on you can see exactly where you are, what you are wearing and who you are talking to.

reply to post by CanadianDream420


There is more than that...I was given an iPod Touch from a family member who just bought a newer model yesterday. There are 3 different spots in the settings where you have to manually disable the 'location' feature.

It's an MP3 player!

Yes it has internet access, but really? 3 different spots?

It's not just the iPhone that has the video video chat now either...the new iPod touch has it built in too. You can video chat to anyone who has either the new iPhone or another new iPod over WiFi.

T-Mobile Blackberry was not on the Washington Post list of government contractors uless I missed seeing them (was a long read.) T-Mobile has also recently been in the news with financial difficulties/takeover attempts -a sure sign they're not co-operating. UAE & Saudi Arabia are allied with the west against a lot of their own people. I wouldn't be so sure that the encryption has been solved. Looks more like some back door attempt to get it broken.

reply to post by luxordelphi


That is possible too, that was one of my first thoughts when this story originally broke...have these countries take a PR hit for breaking the system.

However I also remember the inventor/author of PGP (pretty good privacy) email encryption being put on the FBI's 10 most wanted list briefly because of his software. The encryption was strong enough that it temporarily prevented agencies from reading emails.

There is also the case of a Canadian telecom satellite that briefly hit the news a couple years ago...the company wanted to sell excess capacity to US companies. The story in that case was that the US government demeanded the right to 'wiretap' all calls carried by the satellite...Canadian and American.

Chances are the encryption has been broken, assuming that there wasn't a backdoor to begin with.

When any new operating system comes out for a computer the NSA and DOD both get copies of the software plus a Gold copy. Gold copy will show all hacks found the software used to hack it the updated software for hacking it if the hacking software was updated to do it.

Who controls the cell towers in Dubai and Saudi Arabia? Who controls the backhaul (T1/OC, etc.?) UAE and Saudi Arabia have access to all the data traversing the networks within their territories, obviously, if they're blocking it. If they want to intercept and decrypt the data it's well within their ability to attempt.

Making the accusation that other governments have access to the data, whether true or not and last I heard it hasn't been proven, therefore they should have access as well seems to me to be a play against public opinion. If they want to spy on their people, they should do it the right way; not by riding the backs of other countries but by spending their money and learning how.

Originally posted by JBA2848
When any new operating system comes out for a computer the NSA and DOD both get copies of the software plus a Gold copy. Gold copy will show all hacks found the software used to hack it the updated software for hacking it if the hacking software was updated to do it.

So there's backdoors in Android and Linux?

reply to post by abecedarian


No arguements there.

This can very easily be a blackmail type of situation. If the west doesn't share then they will ban the device.

'If we can't have the data then you can't either'.

From the OP source:

Blackberry won a reprieve on a shutdown in India last month, after RIM agreed to give India access to secure BlackBerry data, according to an Indian government source.

So it seems RIM controls the encrypted data. So why would RIM give in to India and not UAE or Saudi Arabia?

This brings up the question of privacy and the government- could not Canada where RIM is headquartered prohibit RIM releasing data? Having access to the encrypted data via intercept from cell networks and the unencrypted data... it might not be hard to work out the encryption algorithms....

These are good points. Perhaps there is some infighting going on between agencies specifically the Blackwater (think that's the security contractors' name) CEO or other top man recently moving to UAE. U.S. government agencies have complained and still complain about a lack of sharing one with the other. This could be an interagency war.

Can't say I really understood the 'Gold' copy business but was interesting nonetheless. Had thought that encryption by private enterprise had already been a fantasy for some time because the component is built in whether known or unknown to the private company. This goes back to the 80's before there even was an internet but logistical software was sold by a private company but really working for the U.S. that allowed, unbeknownst to the governments involved, the U.S. to view their militia placements. This was from a book 'The Octopus.'

reply to post by [davinci]

Great job of seeing through the propaganda BS and getting to the hidden reality! I would just assume that all modes of communications are being monitored by big brother and or big sis. Interesting how the TPTB hide the real story in plain sight. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that I think my government is the greatest in the World. All of my leaders are truely brilliant. I love the NSA,CIA,FBI, MI5 & 6. AND 15 idiots with boxcutters really did cause the implosion of three skyscrappers in NYC on that faithful day. Peace.

Stories like this only make it more apparently that too many people put too much trust in Facebook, and in digital devices in general.

They have created a zeitgeist of vanity and naivete.

Originally posted by [davinci]

Yes it has internet access, but really? 3 different spots?

True. Thanks for the tip!

If I remember correctly, in certain western nations, the development, sale or even free distribution of encryption systems that have NOT been government "approved" can mean serious jail time.
I am sure every telecomms system for public use in existence is only marketed after government get the encryption keys and access.

Anyone thinking they have a secure system is therefore sadly deceived.

reply to post by vcwxvwligen


What gets me about that is the statement bt Google CEO Eric Schmidt that people may be forced to change thier names in order to get away from the years of posting on social networking sites.

I am curious about the legal implications over this.

If it is against the law to release information about a child involved in a crime, how is it legal to maintain a permenent database on thier online activities? Think about it, if a child is a victim their name is with held by law; likewise if they are the antagonist. Yet here we have a company that is saying that kids may have to change thier names as adults as a result of online behavior?

I'll throw my hat into the ring now and say that we will see a classaction lawsuit in the near future concerning this very thing.



[edit on 3-9-2010 by [davinci]]

The blackberry does use encryption for it's messages, which does make it harder for people to snoop. However, if RIM (the blackberry company) or the phone companies are willing to co-operate with you, there are ways to circumvent this.

One way, is a trojan/keylogger like program. RIM or the phone company could issue a phone update, in the same way your Windows/Mac OS/etc gets updated, which would install this program.

That program once installed could record all the keys you press and send those details back to the phone company. In this way, it doesn't matter how strong the encryption is, because they've managed to tap in before the message is even encrypted and sent.

I read a news story that claimed that this had already happened in Saudi, to customers of one of their phone companies, however it caused phones to have a noticeable slowdown, so they had to remove it. This will likely only be a temporary measure.

I cannot find the same news story I was reading now, but here is another one that claims similar:

Just over a year ago, RIM criticized a directive by UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company’s more than 145,000 BlackBerry users to install software described as an “upgrade … required for service enhancements.”

RIM said tests showed the update was in fact spy software that could allow outsiders to access private information stored on the phones. It strongly distanced itself from Etisalat’s decision, and provided details instructing users how to remove the software.

nbnl.globalwhelming.com...

On the subject of Linux, it is difficult but not impossible to do similar things. One good thing about Linux is that all the source is available, so many people will be checking, looking for problems. However, a linux kernel coder could try and introduce a subtle bug, or binaries distributed by groups such as Ubuntu could potentially be modified by someone hacking the servers. A few years ago a compromise like the first type was uncovered:

"Whoever did this knew what they were doing," says Larry McVoy, founder of San Francisco-based BitMover, Inc., which hosts the Linux kernel development site that was compromised. "They had to find some flags that could be passed to the system without causing an error, and yet are not normally passed together... There isn't any way that somebody could casually come in, not know about UNIX, not know the Linux kernel code, and make this change. Not a chance."

However sophisticated, the hack fell apart Wednesday, when a routine file integrity check told McVoy that someone had manually changed a copy of a kernel source code file that's normally only modified by an automated process, specifically one that pulls the code from BitMover's BitKeeper software collaboration tool and repackages it for the open source CVS system still favored by some developers.

www.securityfocus.com...

I do believe that in general the open nature of Linux makes it more secure, but it's not immune. Attacks like this may succeed at some point, and also just like any software, there may be unintentional bugs that can be exploited.

reply to post by Britguy


who do we sumbmite our encryption programs too i dont break the law and would like to comply with all laws even ones i dont know of
lol

I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible but RIM is a CANADIAN company. It isn't like it's catering to other countries (US/ Israel). If anything, it would cater to the Canadian government.

And wouldn't any provider also allow for countries to access information, just like RIM is?