'UAE suspects BlackBerry to be a spy tool'

DUBAI: It was worries about spying, by the US and Israel, that had spurred plans to sharply limit BlackBerry services in the United Arab Emirates, said Dubai’s police chief suggesting a tough line in talks with the smart-phone maker. The UAE says it will block BlackBerry’s email, messaging and web services from October 11 unless authorities can gain access to the encrypted data traffic — the same warning and demand raised by other countries including India.

The proposed UAE action threatens service for an estimated 5,00,000 local BlackBerry subscribers and could tarnish the country’s reputation as the Gulf’s business and tourism hub with potentially millions of visitors left without key BlackBerry services. Dubai’s police chief, Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said that fears of espionage and information sharing by Israel, apart from the United States and Britain, prompted the possible limits on BlackBerry.

Mr Tamim told a conference on information technology that the proposed BlackBerry curbs are also “meant to control false rumours and defamation of public figures due to the absence of surveillance,” according to a story posted Friday on the website of the UAE newspaper Al-Khaleej. The article did not elaborate on Mr Tamim’s spying accusation. The police chief’s remarks are often considered to reflect the views of Dubai’s leadership.



The police chief gained international attention as the pointman in the probe into the January slaying of a Hamas commander in Dubai, which officials have blamed on Israel’s Mossad spy agency. UAE officials are, reportedly, still in talks with BlackBerry’s manufacturer , Canada-based Research in Motion.

Mr Tamim’s comments, however, point to a hard line by Emirates security chiefs who demand access to BlackBerry data. BlackBerry traffic is encrypted and routed through servers operated by RIM. The company has said it would not disclose details of discussions with regulators in any of the more than 175 countries where it operates. This week, India gave RIM a 60-day window to offer ways to monitor BlackBerry traffic. Saudi Arabia last month allowed BlackBerry services to continue, citing “positive developments” in talks with the company. It remains unclear if the Saudi reprieve is permanent.

Indonesia and Lebanon have also noted security worries about BlackBerry services.