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UN Telecom Chief Urges Blackberry Data Sharing

Posted by timothy on from the best-interests-at-heart dept.

crimeandpunishment writes "The top man in telecommunications at the United Nations is weighing in on the Blackberry battle ... and he says share the data. The UN's telecom chief says governments have legitimate security concerns, and Research in Motion should give them access to its customer data. In an interview with the Associated Press, Hamadoun Toure said 'There is a need for cooperation between governments and the private sector on security issues.'"

5 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. I think I speak for all of us... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think I speak for all of us, when I say: FUCK THE UN!!!

    1. Re:I think I speak for all of us... by TheCarp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yup, and how unsafe that really is.

      Any time you build a back door, you weaken security. End of story.

      The "legal intercept" (aka Wire Tap) functionality on phone switches was used, rather recently, in Athens, by an unknown party, to tap the lines of a number of non profit group leaders, and government officials. It was only discovered after it had been in operation for a while, and was discovered entirely by accident.

      http://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/security/the-athens-affair/0

      That said, I really don't see where governments have such legitimate cases for wiretapping. I mean, sure, I can see their case for wanting to tap, or having cause to tap, certain individuals. However, I don't see how that need translates into a need to force the entire infrastructure to be designed such that they can do it.

      Whats the REAL damage of them not being able to do this when they have a case for it? Some criminals get away? Some are harder to catch and require more work? So what? I don't see how that need should usurp the entire populations security for the occasional need to tap someones phone.

      I know we can dream up all sorts of fanciful scenarios where they might need it.... but imagination land can justify many many things... and movie plots threats do not make for good public policy (as evidenced by the TSA)

      -Steve

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
    2. Re:I think I speak for all of us... by b0bby · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You do understand that US demands the same kind of access? I

      In the case of Blackberries, they don't. From the AP article:
      "Governments in the U.S. and elsewhere have largely made their peace with encryption technology. E-mails can still be obtained through legal channels, for example by obtaining a warrant to search the corporate servers of companies that use BlackBerrys."
      Sure, they're sniffing where they can, which I don't3like, but they're not demanding that secure systems be broken wholesale so they can access them.

  2. TFA is firewalled... by mcgrew · · Score: 4, Informative

    It says it's an entertainment site. But I found a better source anyway; TFA probably cut and pasted from the AP (or from another site that paid the AP for publication) anyway.

    --
    Free Martian Whores!
  3. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, A12 by pete-classic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Secretary Toure,

    FYI:

    No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.

    Thought you should know.

    Sincerely Yours,
    Peter Hutnick