Etisalat, RIM, SS8 in Blackberry Spyware Inplant Controversy
Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) a Canadian Company said on Wednesday the BlackBerry software upgrade recommended by its wireless carrier in the United Arab Emirates, Etisalat contains surveillance software made by a Silicon Valley company. Etisalat and Blackberry are engaged in a dispute about the origin of alleged spyware software installed in many blackberries along with a programme software that allowed peeping into private emails of blackberry users. UAE is a country with a viable mobile phone and Internet penetration level and reports say Etisalat has about 145,000 blackberry users. The current controversy is an extension of the wire tapping story in the USA under George Bush, which is endorsed by the new US president Barack Obama. The Bush administration built an unprecedented surveillance operation to pull in mountains of information far beyond the warrantless wiretapping previously acknowledged. (Read Bush program extended beyond wiretapping: USA Today)
While it is a major crime in the USA to open someone's letters or emails, the US Company is now accusing Etisalat for secretly planting the spyware software in the blackberries. The telecom carrier recently sent a message to its users, recommending they install an update that would ostensibly improve 3G performance. Now it is reported widely in the regional and international media that the upgrade contained an alleged payload from an electronic surveillance specialist. Many users installed the software and a number of users faced problems with battery drain afterward. Some tech savy users probed the contents of the software update found that the software contained a spyware created by a Silicon Valley company, SS8, a specialised electronic surveillance company. As the global war on terror is spreading to different countries, especially the Middle East, the inplant is to be viewed in the global context. Covert and Overt spying of the mobile phone and the Internet users is rampant around the world and in the USA, the the FBI is allowed to install spyware on an individual suspect’s computing device after obtaining a warrant. (Obama Administration Defends Bush Warrantless Wiretapping)
"RIM did not develop this software application and RIM was not involved in any way in the testing, promotion or distribution of this software application," the Blackberry Company said in a statement. RIM said Etisalat, appears to have distributed software from Milpitas, Calif.-based SSI Networks. It said the software can allow access to confidential information on a Blackberry without its owner's permission or knowledge. Etisalat operates in 18 countries is a major competitor for the US based telecom companies, that are trying unsuccessfully to penetrate the Middle East market. The current dispute is to be viewed in the background of failed attempts by the US telecom giants to penetrate the Middle East telecom market, with Etisalat winning many telecom projects in the region, including the latest from Libya. Even the Wall Street Journal has a detailed story about Etisalat-RIM dispute about the alleged blackberry spyware.. Read MoreSS8 describes itself as offering surveillance software for intelligence, law enforcement and communications intercept for service providers like Etisalat. It has been funded by W Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers,Onset Ventures, Protostar Partners and Woodside Fund. In addition to its headquarters in Milpitas, SS8 has offices in Dubai, the Netherlands, China, Malaysia and Florida. It is to be seen whether the same spyware has been used in Blackerry distributed by the same company in Kuwait. In Bahrain and Saudi Arabia too some of the companies alleged in the current controversy are part of the blackberry solution providers.
Sheren A Gunashekhara, a technical analyt who has released a white paper on the spyware says: “Interceptor.” The software was developed by Legal Interception company SS8 and was rolled out to subscribers of the UAE Telecommunications operator, Etisalat as an update. Subscribers who had installed the software noticed increased power consumption on their
handhelds and battery drainage that rendered handhelds usable for shorter periods of time than normal."London-based ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) partner Privacy International (PI) has issued its most recent ranking of the world's leading surveillance societies. By examining national policies in 14 categories such as constitutional protection, privacy enforcement, and workplace monitoring, PI has ranked nations on a scale from "consistently upholds human right standards" to "endemic surveillance societies." The United States ranked with Russia, China and the U.K. at the bottom among the worst surveillance societies. With the advent of powerful cameras, sensors, satellites, and other technologies, we have begun to see the reality of a surveillance society George Orwell fictionalized in his novel 1984. The only barriers that remain to such prying eyes are political and legal. The Middle East countries including the UAE are not listed in the PI surveillance index... Read More
Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts: New York Times -Researcher says BlackBerry Spyware Wasn’t Ready for Prime Time
Trans Asian Railway Network
July 22, 2009
India has signed the Inter Governmental Agreement on the Trans Asian Railway Network in June 2007 at United Nations Headquarters, New York. The agreement has come into force in June 2009 after eight signatories ratified the agreement, the Indian Railway Minister said. "The Southern Corridor of Trans Asian Railway Network provides rail link via India between Asia and Europe. The link commences from Kunming in China and Bangkok in Thailand and ends in Kapikule in Bulgaria having total length of 11,460 kilometers, passing among other countries through Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan," said the Minister of State for Ministry of Railways, Shri K.H. Muniyappa in a written reply in Lok Sabha The Trans Asian Railway network will provide viable land route to promote trade relations with the Middle East, Central Asia and South-East Asia and Europe. It has good potential for container traffic movement between South-East Asia and Europe and between Central and South Asia. Due to reduced transit time, the increased trade will bring benefit to the countries of the region.
Global Telecom Summit Kicks off in India
India has become the second largest wireless network in the world after China with over 4.25 million mobile connections, said the Indian Minister of State for Communication & Information Technology Sachin Pilot while inaugurating the 5th ASSOCHAM Global Telecom Summit-2009 on “Boradband for Digital Democracy and Inclusive Growth” here today . The Minister added that the teledensity which was merely 5% five year back has now reached about 40%. This rapid growth has been possible due to various proactive policies initiated by the Government with the active contribution of the industry. The Department of Telecommunication (DOT) have been able to provide state-of-the-art world-class infrastructure at globally competitive tariffs to the common man. With the collaborative efforts of the Industry, it have also been possible` to reduce the digital divide by extending connectivity to the unconnected areas. In fact the phenomenal growth in Indian telecom Industry is not just the growth of this sector alone but it has ‘multiple effect’ on the entire economy of the country. The huge growth in this sector has also made India one of the most sought after telecom manufacturing destinations as well.
Speaking about the third and fourth generation services,Sh.pilot said that the benefit of voice and Broadband connectivity will be available on mobile handheld devices.These technologies will offer the convenience of mobility with rich multi media content of the Internet.The minister hoped that the Summit will act as a major facilitator in meeting the ever growing requirements of telecommunication market as a whole and for Broadband in particular. Organised by the ASSOCHAM, the two day Summit is being attended by various stake holders in the Telcom industry.
Nandan Nilekani takes over as Chairman of UIADI
Nandan Nilekani took over as Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIADI) here today. Interacting with the media on the occasion, Shri Nilekani said Unique Identification Number will ensure multifarious benefits by enabling different applications. Unique number will include personal and demographic detail of the residents. Common man will be empowered by establishing his identity across the country through a unique number. Replying to queries of the media persons, Shri Nilekani said that data base of residents from various sources will be used for biometric identification. Authority will include best available technical experts from private and Government sector both. He expressed the hope that first set of Unique Identification Numbers will be issued within next 12-18 months. (Nandan Nilekani taking over the Charge as Chairman (UID), in New Delhi on July 23, 2009)
SS8 Acquires UAE Technology Provider OCI Mobile
MILPITAS, CA, February 4, 2009 – SS8 (SS8 Networks, Inc.) announced that it has acquired OCI Mobile, a technology provider specializing in providing highly secured surveillance solutions to government organizations. OCI’s unique and patented technology will become an integral part of SS8’s security solutions portfolio.With the acquisition, SS8 welcomes a team of talented technology professionals, led by Derek Roga, former CEO of the UAE outfit, who will manage global business development for SS8. “This addition is part of our strategic plan to strengthen our already strong presence in the Middle East region – a region we feel is poised for both immediate and long-term growth,” says SS8 CEO Dennis Haar. “We’re very pleased to fortify our operations with such a strong and talented team of surveillance experts.”
The new team will operate out of Dubai, strengthening SS8’s position in this strategic and expanding region. One of the first orders of business for the new team is to lead SS8’s participation at the ISS World MEA trade show, February 24-26, Dubai. ISS World MEA is the world's largest gathering of Middle East and African Telecom Operators, Law Enforcement, Intelligence and Defense Analysts responsible for lawful interception, electronic investigations and network intelligence gathering. SS8 will be Associate Lead Sponsors. “We are excited to showcase the end-to-end solution brought about by the SS8 / OCI Mobile merger” offers Mr. Roga. “Government security and surveillance is a critical issue, and we are proud to represent both a company committed to the region, and a solution that is truly best-of-breed.” OCI Mobile's team will be based in Dubai. Both SS8 and OCI Mobile provide electric interception, wiretapping, and other similar surveillance services for governments and law enforcement
Human Rights Observers Want Fair Trial by Courts in UAE
(New York) - International trial observers from Alkarama for Human Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to monitor the trial on July 20, 2009 of United States national Naji Hamdan.
The presence of the trial observers underscores thae importance of fair trial procedures in the UAE, and they will be looking to see that the highest fair trial standards are applied in Hamdan's case.
On August 26, 2008, the UAE state security forces (Amn al-Dawla) arrested Hamdan at his home in the UAE and detained him incommunicado for three months at a secret location. His trial before the Abu Dhabi State Supreme Court is due to take place on July 20. He faces charges of promoting terrorism, participating in the work of a terrorist organization, and assisting a terrorist organization.It is alleged that Hamdan was tortured and ill-treated during his incommunicado detention. On June 15, at his first appearance before the State Supreme Court, he declared that signed confessions being used as evidence against him are false and were only signed as a result of the torture he suffered.
The trial observers will be paying particular attention to how the allegations of torture raised by Hamdan will be addressed by the prosecuting authorities, the presiding judges and other relevant government officials, in accordance with the UAE's international obligations.Alkarama for Human Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch will assess the observers' findings and make public their findings in due course.
More from AmnestySS8 Networks to Address Address Intercept Issues and Law Enforcement
DUBAI, U.A.E., February 26, 2008 – SS8 Networks extends its status as international market leader in Lawful Intercept at the ISS World EMEA event, which opens today in Dubai. In addition to three key presentations from Dr. Cemal Dikmen, Scott Coleman and Kevin McTiernan highlighting a number of challenges and opportunities in the global Lawful Intercept (LI) industry, SS8’s presence at the event underscores its commitment to the Middle East region and marks the second year in a row that SS8 has been a key sponsor of the show. ”We were very pleased when TeleStrategies announced their first ISS World show in Dubai in 2007,” stated SS8 Networks VP of EMEA, Colin Verrall. “It’s great to be back again this year with such a strong regional team anchored here in Dubai.”
Dr. Cemal Dikmen, Vice President of Product Line Management at SS8 Networks, and a mainstay on the highly respected Lawful Intercept Guru Panel, will sit on the panel to discuss current industry issues and also provide a separate technical presentation on the challenges of Lawful Intercept in the Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) market.
Also within the speaking programme at the conference, Scott Coleman, Marketing Director of SS8 Networks, will be looking at the new, emergent technologies affecting LI, specifically in terms of the challenges that WiMAX and Video Telephony will pose. Finally, Kevin McTiernan, Senior Product Manager, Lawful Intercept at SS8 Networks looks at the issue of meeting Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) challenges and analysing rapidly changing Internet control requirements.
With such in-depth industry knowledge, SS8 Networks occupies a unique position in the lawful intercept industry. “We can call upon any of our in-house experts to analyze and solve our customer’s LI challenges,” said Malek Akilie, SS8 Networks Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa. Mr. Akilie, who heads up the local Dubai-based headquarters, continued: “Our regional office allows us to support our customers directly and gives us a local understanding of the challenges affecting Law Enforcement Agencies and service providers at both a regional and national level.”
VIVA, Alcatel-Lucent and RIM Launch the BlackBerry Solution in Kuwait
Kuwait Telecommunication Co. (VIVA), Alcatel-Lucent and Research In Motion (RIM) announced the launch of the BlackBerry® solution for VIVA customers in Kuwait. VIVA customers will now be able to enjoy the benefits of enhanced communications and increased productivity by using a Blackberry® smartphone to access email, browse the web, make phone calls, send and receive text and picture messages, run multimedia applications, as well as access a wide variety of other business and leisure applications on the move. At launch VIVA will offer customers the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 and BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphones as well as service with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and BlackBerry® Internet Service, the companies announced during the launch time. (June 8, 2009)The BlackBerry Bold smartphone is a communications and multimedia powerhouse. It is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi® (802.11 a/b/g). The BlackBerry Curve 8900 packs a wide range of advanced communications and multimedia capabilities into a compact and stylish design - it is the thinnest and lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone available. As with all BlackBerry smartphones, both handsets give users the industry’s leading mobile email and messaging solution together with access to a wide range of other mobile business and consumer applications.
BlackBerry Enterprise Server is for organizations that manage their own email servers. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server software tightly integrates with IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® and uses advanced encryption and IT policy controls to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate data.BlackBerry Internet Service is designed for smaller businesses and individuals. It allows customers to access up to 10 supported corporate and personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo! Mail and Google Mail) from a single device.
Based on its distribution agreement with RIM, Alcatel-Lucent is leveraging its strong local presence in the region to provide VIVA with end-to-end support services for the BlackBerry solution. With Alcatel-Lucent managing integration and deployment, VIVA can focus on delivering customer facing services, enabling the operator to quickly meet market demand.
“As a leader of innovative services, we are committed to expanding our portfolio with the most advanced telecom solutions. More and more customers in Kuwait would like to get easy access to their emails and calendar information when they are on the move and enjoy other advanced communications and multimedia features. The launch of the BlackBerry solution in partnership with Alcatel-Lucent and RIM is a good example of international cooperation. It falls in line with our principle 'to give more to subscribers'. We are proud to offer our customers this efficient and effective service, which has already become a hit among business users and individuals around the world," said Eng. Najeeb Al-Awadhi, VIVA CEO.
"This contract further reinforces Alcatel-Lucent’s ability to leverage our global strengths and local presence to deliver enterprise managed communications and value-added services, enabling the operator to quickly meet market demand. As a result, VIVA customers will enjoy the freedom and flexibility of the BlackBerry solution for staying connected to people and information whenever they wish,” said Vincenzo Nesci, Vice-president of Alcatel-Lucent’s activities in the Middle East and Africa
“We are pleased to work with Alcatel-Lucent and VIVA to introduce the BlackBerry solution to VIVA customers in Kuwait. BlackBerry smartphones are popular with people around the world who want well-balanced mobile phones that deliver advanced features, refined usability and stylish designs,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at RIMVIVA, an integrated mobile telecommunications service provider offers a full suite of mobile business and consumer services in Kuwait. Although newly established, December 3rd, 2008, VIVA marked a milestone for the development of Kuwait’s telecommunications. After only four months of operation, VIVA has acquired a significant market share, and is currently a major telecommunications provider, contributing 10% of the total mobile communications market in Kuwait. VIVA has so far expanded to all cities and provinces nationwide. VIVA is well known for high quality of service, best price packages and wide network coverage with the most innovated Value Added Services. For more information, visit VIVA on: www.VIVA.com.kw
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM's portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Alcatel-Lucent is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris.
Abudhabi Judicial Department Plans RIFD File Tracking System