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Spyware In BlackBerry Updates For Users in the UAE

Posted by timothy on from the this-could-happen-in-$yourcountry-too dept.

mulaz writes with this excerpt from The Register: "An update pushed out to BlackBerry users on the Etisalat network in the United Arab Emirates appears to contain remotely-triggered spyware that allows the interception of messages and emails, as well as crippling battery life. Sent out as a WAP Push message, the update installs a Java file that one curious customer decided to take a closer look at, only to discover an application intended to intercept both email and text messages, sending a copy to an Etisalat server without the user being aware of anything beyond a slightly excessive battery drain."

2 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. UAE - no surprise by Torontoman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As far as non-north-american countries go - the UAE is very progressive. But a former client of mine who spent 8 yrs there working in administration pointed out - "in North America we are an odd country and culture - we simply take it as the norm that nobody will listen to us. That level of privacy is not the norm, it's unusual" He was in a senior healthcare position and essentially knew as a foreigner in a position of influence that he would be monitored regularly if not constantly.

  2. More information by mothrsuperior · · Score: 5, Interesting

    the register has a followup (including some code) here.
      Apparently etisalat claims the spyware is for troubleshooting during the 2g to 3g upgrade.