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Spyware In BlackBerry Updates For Users in the UAE
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."
c'mon real time backup, can't beat that.
" as well as crippling battery life." is not the same as "a slightly excessive battery drain."
It's slightly crippling?
This guy's the limit!
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.
slightly excessive battery drain
As a crackberry user myself, I can tell you that sometimes a change in battery life isn't even something I would worry much about. Considering the number of applications that many of us have on our 'berries, the number we have in the background at any given time, and the amount we use the applications in the foreground, a noticeable shift in battery life between Tuesday and Wednesday might not be considered abnormal. I know there are people who just charge every night religiously because they always want to start with a full battery in the morning; if they ended at 45% instead of 55% they might not think anything of it as long as their charge made it to the end of the day.
On the other hand if they normally end at 45% and now they don't make it through the day, they would likely notice that.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
You say it as if its a bad thing.
That's because it is.
I, for one, would rather see Jobs get his liver than, say, some old person who worked as a machinist for 30 years, or even worse, an alcoholic native american.
Yeah, because the only choices were either him or the two extreme examples you've given. There are probably plenty of people on the list far more deserving than Jobs who got bumped down because they couldn't afford to buy their way to the top.
Supposedly, e-mail between the company's server and the device is encrypted (although at one time, there were some protests to using Blackberries because the messages pass through RIM's servers which were located somewhere in Canada - I don't know if that's still the case).
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
the register has a followup (including some code) here.
Apparently etisalat claims the spyware is for troubleshooting during the 2g to 3g upgrade.
From the Register: "While text messages and phone calls are usually more easily intercepted at the network operator, the BlackBerry architecture doesn't lend itself to that kind of legally-authorised interception, which has caused problems in several other countries. It seems probable that this application was an attempt by the authorities to circumvent that architecture, and it will be interesting to see if a similar application appears on competing UEA operators."
It's just a typo in the link, and for some reason the 404 page says "deleted" instead of just "not found". If you read the elreg comments page, you can find the corrected URL and the thread is still live:
http://supportforums.blackberry.com/rim/board/message?board.id=BlackBerryDeviceSoftware&thread.id=5632&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
SS8 says their software is used by "some of the largest service providers in the world," so it may have been more surreptitiously pushed in phases by your own provider already.
Bum, bum, buuuuummmm.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
> By the way, I know how healthcare works in Europe.
> "Oh, you have insurance, come ahead now." Maybe
> Greece and Italy aren't part of Europe, but your
> universal healthcare seems to be a case of some
> pigs are more equal.
Eh? Can't comment on anywhere else, but in the UK having insurance makes no difference to your treatment in the NHS. It means you can go to a private provider, but it makes no difference to your NHS provision.