BlackBerry a threat, says UAE

Dubai, July 26 (AP): The United Arab Emirates has declared BlackBerry smartphones a potential threat to national security, saying the devices operate beyond the jurisdiction of national laws.

This is the second major controversy over the Blackberry in the UAE. A year ago, the country’s biggest state-run mobile operator was caught encouraging unwitting BlackBerry users to install software on the devices that could allow outsiders to peer inside.

In the latest flap, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority voiced fears that the BlackBerry manages data in a way that could allow it to be misused.

BlackBerry devices were singled out because they are the only phones operating in the country that automatically relay users’ information to privately managed data centres overseas, the regulator said. “As a result of how Blackberry data is managed and stored, in their current form, certain Blackberry applications allow people to misuse the service.”