Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Don't know if this will affect anyone on these boards, but just in case:

AP on Yahoo
By ADAM SCHRECK, AP Business Writer Adam Schreck, Ap Business Writer � 1 hr 53 mins ago
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates outlined plans Sunday to block BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web browsing services in a crackdown that could jeopardize efforts to establish the country as an international business hub.

The government cited a potential security threat because encrypted data sent on the devices is moved abroad, where it cannot be monitored for illegal activity. But the decision � quickly followed by a similar move in Saudi Arabia � raises questions about whether the conservative Gulf nations are trying to further control content they deem politically or morally objectionable.

BlackBerry phones have a strong following in the region, not only among foreign professionals in commercial centers such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but also among youth who see their relatively secure communication channels as a way to avoid unwanted government attention.

"The authorities have used a variety of arguments, like it can be used by terrorists" to justify the crackdown, said Christopher Davidson, a professor at the University of Durham in Britain, who has written extensively about the region. "Yes that's true, but it can also be used by civil society campaigners and activists."

The UAE's decision will prevent hundreds of thousands of BlackBerry users from accessing e-mail and the Web on their handsets starting in October. It's unclear whether the ban will extend to foreign visitors with roaming services, including the roughly 100,000 passengers who pass through the region's busiest airport in Dubai each day.

The ban risks further damaging the UAE's reputation as a relatively easy place to do business.

Dubai, one of seven hereditary sheikdoms in the federation, in particular has sought to turn itself into a global finance, trade and tourism hub. But its reputation has been tarnished by a credit crisis that has left the emirate more than $100 billion in debt.

Residents say the BlackBerry crackdown will only do more harm, making foreign businesses think twice before setting up shop in the country.

"They'll think now they've banned the BlackBerry, maybe next time it'll be the Internet," said Shakir Mahmood, a Dubai-based debt collector and BlackBerry user originally from Iraq.

This isn't the first time BlackBerry and Emirati officials have had run-ins over security and the popular handsets, a fixture in professionals' pockets and purses the world over.

Last year, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. criticized a directive by the UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company's BlackBerry users to install software described as an "upgrade" required for "service enhancements."

RIM said tests showed it 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 told users how to remove the software.

Within hours of Sunday's UAE decision to block BlackBerry services, a telecommunications official in neighboring Saudi Arabia said the desert kingdom would do the same, starting later this month. The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said the country's telecommunications regulator would issue a statement soon.

Ali Mohammed of Saudi Telecom, however, said the company had "not received any instructions about BlackBerry from the ministry."

Government censors in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE routinely block access to websites and other media deemed to carry content that runs contrary to the nations' conservative Islamic values or that could stoke political unrest.

Regulators in the UAE say BlackBerry devices operate outside a set of national security and safety laws enacted in 2007, the year after the BlackBerry debuted in the UAE. They say they are concerned some BlackBerry services "allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns."

The government said it is singling out the BlackBerry, and not other smart phones such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Nokia Corp. handsets, because the Blackberry is the only one that automatically sends users' data to servers overseas.

Unlike other smart phones, BlackBerry devices use a system that updates a user's inbox by sending encrypted messages through company servers abroad, including RIM's home country of Canada.

Users like the system because it is seen as more secure, but it also makes BlackBerry messages far harder to monitor than ones sent through domestic servers that authorities can more easily tap into, analysts say.

"This is the irony, that it's the device with the highest security features. These same security features that corporations like have become an issue of national security for the government," said Simon Simonian, an analyst at Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital. "The UAE doesn't want to take any chances and they want to monitor what is going on in the country."

The dispute highlights an ongoing tug-of-war between autocratic governments determined to control what information citizens consume online and share with others, and technology providers whose loyalties lie with their customers and shareholders.

Similar tensions erupted earlier this year between China and Google Inc. after the Internet company said it would stop censoring its search results in the country. After China warned it might not renew its license, Google agreed to obey local laws and stop automatically switching mainland users to its unfiltered Hong Kong site.

Emirati authorities are eager to portray an image of a safe and stable society free from the extremism found elsewhere in the region. They have taken steps to crack down on terror financing and efforts by neighboring Iran to sidestep international sanctions over its nuclear program.

Davidson cited alarm in the UAE and other Gulf nations over the role online organization played in helping to drive anti-government protests in Iran during the 2009 elections as a factor in their moves to tighten Internet controls.

Emirati regulators said in a statement they sought to reach a compromise with RIM on their concerns, but failed to come to an agreement.

"With no solution available and in the public interest ... BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry E-mail and BlackBerry Web-browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied," said the director-general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Mohamed al-Ghanim.

"BlackBerry appears to be compliant in similar regulatory environments of other countries, which makes noncompliance in the UAE both disappointing and of great concern," he added in a statement carried on state news agency WAM.

A spokeswoman for RIM said the Canadian company had no immediate comment.

Other countries, including India and the Gulf state of Bahrain, have also raised concerns about BlackBerry messaging features, but have not blocked them outright.

RIM said in a statement last week it "respects both the regulatory requirements of government and the security and privacy needs of corporations and consumers."

The company declined to disclose details of talks it has had with regulators in the more than 175 countries where it operates, but defended its phones' security features as "widely accepted" by customers and governments.

Etisalat and Du, the UAE's two state-run telephone companies, said they are working on alternative services for their BlackBerry customers.

RIM does not disclose the number of BlackBerry users in the UAE. However, analyst Simonian estimated there are "hundreds of thousands" of BlackBerry users in the country.

None contacted by The Associated Press on Sunday said they supported the pending ban.

"I find it irritating, actually. It's a service everyone is using, and all of a sudden, they're just going to disconnect it?" said a 30-year-old manager at a Dubai mall who would give only his first name, Khalid, because he did not want to attract attention from the authorities. "

Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

It will be interesting to see if those with BBs have enough wasta to stop this new rule from going into effect... both in Saudi and the UAE.

I suspect that they will... but it's JMHO...

But we know how they love their phones...

VS

[lizziebennet]

I love my crackberry! This is so sad!

[Sheikh N Bake]

The sleazy government at work

Last year, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. criticized a directive by the UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company's BlackBerry users to install software described as an "upgrade" required for "service enhancements."

RIM said tests showed it 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 told users how to remove the software.

[Blkinkorea31]

I'm heading to the KSA in a matter of weeks, and want to know if I bring these two devices along will I still be able to purchase e-books from Amazon and music/movies/tv programmes from I-tunes?

[veiledsentiments]

We have had a number of people discuss taking their kindles and most people seem to have an I-pod these days. Downloading will probably depend on the download speeds wherever you are...

VS

[Cuffs]

To my mind, a banning on Blackberry devices would be one of the single greatest steps that this country could take towards improving the quality of its education. The ubiquity of the damn things gets in the way of every single lesson I try to teach.

These kids aren't using them for business; to them they are a diversion. You have no idea how much fun I have taking out the free mobile that I picked up in Abu Dhabi last year, and attempting to smash it on the side of a desk, to their horror. To date it hasn't sustained a scratch.

By the way, the general flavour of debate on this story seems to be:

a) The UAE aren't asking for much more than many western democracies already have access to at the moment.

b) The move is probably just a bargaining chip by the UAE in the face of continued refusal by the manufacturers of the Blackberry to allow access to even some of their encryption codes.

c) If the ban were to go ahead, the UAE mobile service providers would be pretty much overwhelmed by demand as everyone switches over to devices which use the local networks - given that the ban date has been set as October.

d) If you really want to encrypt your emails, it's easy from a regular computer.

Most other commentary that I've read walks that deepening trench demarcated by the expressions "these totalitarian regimes..." and "...the native people's demands for liberalization." You've heard it all before.

[johnslat]

It seems the Blackberry ban will affect visitors as well:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_emirates_blackberry

I wonder if they'll let Obama's Blackberry function if he ever pays a visit?

Regards,
John

[Cuffs]

[sheikher]

A scant ten weeks ago:


Ban on BlackBerry Messenger ruled out

By ARAB NEWS
Published: May 21, 2010 02:14 Updated: May 21, 2010 02:14

DAMMAM: Saudi Arabia's telecommunications watchdog has ruled out banning the controversial messenger service from BlackBerry.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) said there was no reason to do so if only a minority had misused the facility.

"We look at the needs of society as well as the regulatory aspects of the BlackBerry service in a balanced manner. The organizational framework does not permit anyone to exploit the service. Therefore, there is no need for stopping the service," said deputy governor of CITC for legal matters Daifallah Al-Zahrani.

He was addressing participants of a workshop on cyber crime organized by the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dammam on Thursday.

There were rumors BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) would be banned in the Kingdom following reports that CITC had asked the device's Canadian manufacturer Research in Motion to allow the regulator to be able to monitor messages sent via the service.

Al-Zahrani said ordinary courts would continue to look into cyber crimes while CITC would offer technical support, ruling out the establishment of special courts to handle such offences.

"CITC has been coordinating with the concerned authorities that deal with cyber crimes," he said.

"New electronic systems enable CITC to discover details of cyber criminal activity and to pass that information to concerned authorities so they can take action."

Al-Zahrani said when victims of cyber crime complained to crime control departments, investigations were conducted with the help of CITC. The case is then handed over to the Prosecution and Investigations Board.

"The first cyber case was examined and a verdict issued by a court in Al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province and many similar cases then followed," he said.

He said the availability of unlicensed electronic services and devices in local markets was unlawful.

"The presence of a device in the market does not mean that it is permitted. CITC will coordinate with the Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs to check shops that sell illegal services and products and punish them. There are CITC inspection teams to check devices and services that are available in markets in the Kingdom," he added.

Deputy governor of CITC for the information technology sector Suleiman Mirdad said in his address that some people indiscreetly published their personal details on the Internet and were easy victims of cyber crimes.

"There are people who publish their private photos and information and other details on websites such as Facebook to be seen by all. Sometimes, such details may be used against them," he said.

He said an average of about 2,000 requests were made daily to block obscene websites. The complaints came mainly from students, he added.

He said the commission was determined to deal with Saudi hackers in such a way their talent would be eventually be utilized in a positive manner. He added that Saudi talents in the field of information technology should be honored.

[Sheikh N Bake]

[Cuffs]

[lazycomputerkids]

[Sheikh N Bake]

I said "bad for business," not business-eliminating. It's a slippery slope. In a slightly different arena, I find the UAE more censorship-happy on the internet than Saudi Arabia.

[lazycomputerkids]

The latest from Reuters...
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6720WQ20100803