AP: UAE calls BlackBerrys a “security threat”

The AP is reporting that the United Arab Emirates has declared BlackBerry smartphones a national security risk. UAE government officials commented saying the handsets “operate beyond the jurisdiction of national laws and are open to misuse. [...] As a result of how Blackberry data is managed and stored, in their current form, certain Blackberry applications allow people to misuse the service, causing serious social, judicial and national security repercussions.” The State is referring to the relaying of data — for compression and optimization — through RIM’s BlackBerry infrastructure data centers. RIM has not released an official comment, and members of the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority have said no decisions about the handsets future in the UAE have been made.

Thanks, Mitch.Read

Tags: BlackBerry, RIM, Risk, Security, UAE, United Arab Emirates