Indeed. I think they got away with the $100 billion property bubble collapse, sovereign default and people thrown into debtor prison, but the business world will really notice this one!
I remember laughing my head off when it hit the papers.
In my opinion no in their right minds should never ever reveal publicly what their security apparatus can't do. They might as well have shot themselves in the head.
If you have a secret cryptoanalysis capability, then using data obtained from it in court will render it no longer secret, and it is no good for intimidating people. Having a nonsecret capability to do the same thing solves these problems.
Yes, but telling people that you don't have it is another matter all together. It's quite okay to show off your defenses, but it's a completely different ball game when it comes to showing off your weaknesses.
That is definitely a possibility, but I think that the details were leaked out or something.
Moreover, what was telling was the fact that there are now mandatory background checks before you can own a blackberry. On the other hand, I am pretty sure that they must have bought the technology by now.
What makes me doubt it even more is that this is a security establishment in which it's an open secret that people "accidently" burn files in order to prevent implication (I've seen the fires. One of the intelligence records buildings was next to my mother's office). The core intelligence group is quite lean and sophisticated, but a lot of the establishment is just corrupt bureaucrats on the take.
It's not simply businesses that are effected. Overall, it is young people who use BlackBerry's in the UAE.
The two carriers (Etisalat & Du) have pushed them heavily here. They allow young people to talk to each other without actually talking - which would be taboo.
If you go anywhere in the UAE, nearly all you can see is BlackBerry's. People spend more than half of their time messaging each other, email or otherwise.
I think the Gulf states are trying to apply their power to make RIM play their game. The states will succeed if RIM thinks it's a worthwhile market to stay in.
This will be largely driven by morality concerns in Saudi Arabia. If they can't monitor the comms then they can't see whether or not young unmarried men and women are talking to each other, which means that they will.
It'll eventually get lifted I imagine, there was a similar think with cameraphones that was ineffectively enforced years back in kingdom.
