RIM averts BlackBerry ban in Saudi Arabia; hands over codes [Rumour]
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A compromise was the only option, and RIM has reportedly made one with Saudi Arabia, allowing the country unprecedented access to its clients’ data, and the keys to its uncompromising security. RIM had previously made a proposal to relocate the country-specific servers inside each of the dissident country’s borders, thus placing them under their various jurisdictions. This resolution, logistically difficult and treading on numerous issues of international law, is apparently not the one that has been acceded to, instead, according to the anonymous source from RIM, they are providing “the codes to all Saudi BlackBerry users.” As RIM themselves claim they don’t have access to their user’s data, it is speculated that the codes in question are not “decryption codes”, but rather subscriber ID codes that identify individual data streams.
While RIM has not issued an official statement, the Saudi government has reportedly revealed there have been “positive developments” at the talks.
If true, identical solutions are on the cards for the remaining unaligned nations, something ensured by RIM’s claim that they will not “provide, or have ever provided, something unique to the government of one country that we have not offered to the governments of all countries”
While this move will certainly please the respective countries, it has already raised much ire with users, who claim it will violate one of the few internationally secure mobile communication services. While RIM never had a choice in the matter – it simply could not afford to lose millions of customers from these countries – privacy advocates and BlackBerry users are certain to feel as if the company gave in too easily.