Arabs ban the Blackberry

THE FACT that the Blackberry is so secure seems to have miffed the ruling families of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Spooks working for the UAE apparently are moaning that the messaging system is so secure that they can't spy on it. The Blackberry's Messenger application uses encrypted data sent to offshore servers.

That means it is impossible for them to track down terrorists, repress internal dissent and tell if women are having affairs and need a good stoning.

Now it looks like a million Blackberry users might have their services in Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut.

The United Arab Emirates' Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement that certain Blackberry services "allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns."

As a result the UAE said it will suspend Blackberry Messenger, email and web browser services from October 11 until "a fix" is found.

Saudi Arabia has already ordered local telecom companies to freeze Messenger this month.

The UAE is not the only country that is concerned about the security of the Crackberry. Indian investigators are also concerned that the Blackberry's encryption could be used by terrorists. They are a bit sensitive to such problems in the wake of 2008 attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai.

Bahrain has indicated that Blackberry Messenger should not be used to distribute local news. That other developing nation France has also told its officials not to use the services.

The chances of the UAE coming to terms with Blackberry services are rather remote. An official told Reuters that it's a final decision but they are continuing discussions with the company.

In other words, remove the encryption or your lucrative deals with Dubai are off. µ