RIM says UAE partner's BlackBerry update was actually spyware
22/07/2009 2:18:00 PM
by Adam Schreck
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Associated Press) -- BlackBerry users in the Middle East business centres of Dubai and Abu Dhabi who were directed by their service provider to upgrade their phones were actually installing spy software that could allow outsiders to peer inside, according to the device's maker.
Research in Motion Ltd., the Canadian company that makes the popular mobile gadgets, said in a statement emailed Wednesday that it did not authorize the software installation and "was not involved in any way in the testing, promotion or distribution of this software application." It is directing customers on how to remove the software.
"Independent sources have concluded that it is possible that the installed software could ... enable unauthorized access to private or confidential information stored on the user's smart phone," the company said in an eight-page statement strongly distancing itself from the decision to install the software.
The Abu Dhabi-based service provider Etisalat, which is majority owned by the U.A.E. government, earlier sent text messages to BlackBerry customers instructing them to follow a link to update their phones.
Some customers who did so said the new software quickly drained the device's batteries, prompting hundreds of complaints to Etisalat and sending users to Internet message boards looking for ways to fix the problem.
In a statement issued following complaints last week, Etisalat described the software change as an "upgrade ... required for service enhancements." It said the upgrades were required and linked to a handover to the 3G wireless technology standard.
The BlackBerry maker dismissed that explanation.
"RIM is not aware of any technical network concerns with the performance of BlackBerry smart phones on Etisalat's network in the U.A.E.," the company said, adding that it "does not endorse this software application."
Etisalat did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
RIM said the application users unwittingly installed was a surveillance program developed by a privately-held Silicon Valley company called SS8 Networks Inc.
SS8 describes itself in a company brochure as "the leader in communications interception and a worldwide provider of regulatory compliant, electronic intercept and surveillance solutions." It markets its services to intelligence agencies, law enforcement and communication service providers.
A person who answered the phone at SS8's Middle East office in Dubai declined to comment and refused to provide a name. He said the company's regional head, Derek Roga, was out of the country. A spokesman at the company's headquarters in Milpitas, Calif., could not be reached.
It is not clear why Etisalat encouraged users to install the application or if any private information was compromised.
The company, one of two major telecommunications providers in the country, regularly blocks hundreds of web addresses - ranging from pornographic sites to the photo-sharing portal Flikr.com - in line with state censorship guidelines.
Etisalat says it has more than 145,000 BlackBerry users in the UAE.
22/07/2009 2:18:00 PM
by Adam Schreck
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Associated Press) -- BlackBerry users in the Middle East business centres of Dubai and Abu Dhabi who were directed by their service provider to upgrade their phones were actually installing spy software that could allow outsiders to peer inside, according to the device's maker.
Research in Motion Ltd., the Canadian company that makes the popular mobile gadgets, said in a statement emailed Wednesday that it did not authorize the software installation and "was not involved in any way in the testing, promotion or distribution of this software application." It is directing customers on how to remove the software.
"Independent sources have concluded that it is possible that the installed software could ... enable unauthorized access to private or confidential information stored on the user's smart phone," the company said in an eight-page statement strongly distancing itself from the decision to install the software.
The Abu Dhabi-based service provider Etisalat, which is majority owned by the U.A.E. government, earlier sent text messages to BlackBerry customers instructing them to follow a link to update their phones.
Some customers who did so said the new software quickly drained the device's batteries, prompting hundreds of complaints to Etisalat and sending users to Internet message boards looking for ways to fix the problem.
In a statement issued following complaints last week, Etisalat described the software change as an "upgrade ... required for service enhancements." It said the upgrades were required and linked to a handover to the 3G wireless technology standard.
The BlackBerry maker dismissed that explanation.
"RIM is not aware of any technical network concerns with the performance of BlackBerry smart phones on Etisalat's network in the U.A.E.," the company said, adding that it "does not endorse this software application."
Etisalat did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
RIM said the application users unwittingly installed was a surveillance program developed by a privately-held Silicon Valley company called SS8 Networks Inc.
SS8 describes itself in a company brochure as "the leader in communications interception and a worldwide provider of regulatory compliant, electronic intercept and surveillance solutions." It markets its services to intelligence agencies, law enforcement and communication service providers.
A person who answered the phone at SS8's Middle East office in Dubai declined to comment and refused to provide a name. He said the company's regional head, Derek Roga, was out of the country. A spokesman at the company's headquarters in Milpitas, Calif., could not be reached.
It is not clear why Etisalat encouraged users to install the application or if any private information was compromised.
The company, one of two major telecommunications providers in the country, regularly blocks hundreds of web addresses - ranging from pornographic sites to the photo-sharing portal Flikr.com - in line with state censorship guidelines.
Etisalat says it has more than 145,000 BlackBerry users in the UAE.
