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RIM allows Indian government to monitor Blackberry network
engadget.com — "...RIM is going to back down and allow the Indian government to monitor the Blackberry network..."
dimmerswitch- 704 diggs
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- InfamousAtheist, on 05/23/2008, -3/+32I have no doubt that this is already happening in the US.
Thanks for selling out your users, RIM.- svensko, on 05/23/2008, -8/+3Do you have a way to prove it? It may be happening or it may not be happening, but you're more likely to be taken seriously if you can show some hard evidence for this claim.
- sockpuppets, on 05/23/2008, -1/+10Living under a rock?
- whereiseljefe, on 05/23/2008, -0/+9The best route is to assume they are monitoring.
If they aren't its no biggie.
If they are you don't want to get caught with your pants down, now do you.
Of course its not just a governmental issue. Never trust that any communication you make where you can't watch the data get from point A to point B hasn't been looked at by someone other than the intended recipients.
- Clugenheim, on 05/23/2008, -2/+11Two words: Patriot Act.
It IS happening, and it's all in the name of the non-existent "war on terror".- svensko, on 05/23/2008, -5/+3Maybe it's just because I come from a scientific view-point but do you have any evidene besides saying saying 'It IS happening'? Surely one of the brilliant minds on digg can come up with a way to find out if the signal is being watched or monitored?
- jp12380, on 05/23/2008, -3/+2If I was not so lazy I would go look for something but the chances are more likely that it is already happening.
- retawd, on 05/23/2008, -3/+4Don't be ignorant Evidence is annoying... It involves all these complicated facts and proof... How booooring. Heresay, assumption and bias are where it's at! You'd know that if you weren't busy being ignorant...
- thall, on 05/23/2008, -0/+4svensko, the RF signal is not likely being monitored, it's the data transported on the network that is and the network is a big black box unless you work for the network company. How do you tell if you're being monitored at that level? Scientifically you inject some input and watch how the output changes...try sending a false "red flag" message to someone in another country and see if a pizza van starts to park outside your house.
- DigitAl56K, on 05/23/2008, -1/+3Use Google, it's what it's there for.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/wireless/57966. ...
Obviously the French government has enough concern not to use it.
You might as well assume the US government and it's agencies are doing almost anything you can think of that might invade your privacy because every time anyone accuses them of anything it turns out to be true. - svensko, on 05/23/2008, -2/+1Might as well assume the moon is made of cheese as well I guess.
- supersonu1, on 05/23/2008, -1/+0Non-Existent War on Terror? In India last week only a series of seven bomb blast in a city(Jaipur) killed 50+ people and wounded 100+. And these blasts happen every 4-6 months.
Do you really think Indian, US or any other government is interested in your private mails regarding your secret love affairs? This blackberry monitoring decision came after it has been found that majority of all terrorists coordinate their highly synchronized terror attacks through Cell Phone communication. So I think it is justified they monitor the blackberry data as long as they don't leak out the details.
My last point is: If you are not doing anything illegal or wrong then you don't have anything to afraid and if you are doing unlawful things then they(Govt.) is right in monitoring you.- Giever, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1"If you are not doing anything illegal or wrong then you don't have anything to afraid and if you are doing unlawful things then they(Govt.) is right in monitoring you."
Is the one thing you shouldn't say to argue your point. I think a lot of people try to use this as a means to prove their side of it, but, really, it's not about worrying about the diamond smuggling you're telling your friends about on your blackberry, or putting up on twitter (okay so it would just be dumb to do that, but, hey, I'm playing to the fads).
It's about individual rights. Once you start making sacrifices for security, etc., etc. (this argument has been going on for how long now? Since before our government existed? Guess it just proves how silly it is for me to bother responding to it.) - freedomknight, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1Oh Yeah, This is my favorite part.
How long does it take for some one who is in power to abuse this ?,
Say congress wants to foil next election, it can just throw security biscuits and monitor their opposition 24/7. Or monitor people who represent groups like Human Rights. Or a politician doesn't like you so he will put 24/7 eye on you.
Is that ok for you ?
- Giever, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1"If you are not doing anything illegal or wrong then you don't have anything to afraid and if you are doing unlawful things then they(Govt.) is right in monitoring you."
- svensko, on 05/23/2008, -5/+3Maybe it's just because I come from a scientific view-point but do you have any evidene besides saying saying 'It IS happening'? Surely one of the brilliant minds on digg can come up with a way to find out if the signal is being watched or monitored?
- foofightrs777, on 05/23/2008, -0/+6And Americans wonder how the Germans could have been so stupid/naive/blind.
- svensko, on 05/23/2008, -8/+3Do you have a way to prove it? It may be happening or it may not be happening, but you're more likely to be taken seriously if you can show some hard evidence for this claim.
- MacBookForMe, on 05/23/2008, -1/+8If you allow them or not, they are doing that at all times
- deadlift, on 05/23/2008, -3/+35Sounds like a rimjob to me.
Right?- Chairboy, on 05/23/2008, -2/+13I was going to be subtle and say "That's quite a job RIM's doing" and let someone else interpret my lotus-like pagoda of verbal origami.... but I guess your approach works just as well.
- Mikidogo, on 05/23/2008, -1/+3Oh, I see what you did there.
- jp12380, on 05/23/2008, -1/+3Wait, are you saying a rimjob is bad? :P
- jggr, on 05/23/2008, -0/+3Only if she wants to kiss you afterwards.
- sitharmy, on 05/23/2008, -14/+14Apu is watching you!
- arunforce, on 05/23/2008, -5/+5Why is this getting dugg up? It's kinda racist, because it's stereotypical.
It's like saying Indiana Jones is watching you (America).- spoonchucks, on 05/23/2008, -1/+4Would it be better if he said "Rajkumar is watching you?"
Jeez, just take the joke at face value.- boombye, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1what a banchot
- Giever, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1I -wish- more Americans were like Indiana Jones. I bet the number of archaeological adventures would quadruple, at the least.
- spoonchucks, on 05/23/2008, -1/+4Would it be better if he said "Rajkumar is watching you?"
- mangosinslo, on 05/23/2008, -6/+2but, but stereotypes are funny!
- toytoyota, on 05/23/2008, -5/+3Oh man, that's the first Indian that comes to mind..
We've got a lot of work to do.- sitharmy, on 05/23/2008, -2/+3well I would have said Gandhi, but that didn't rhyme. And I don't think that domestic spying was a big part of what Mohandas stood for.
- boombye, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1Would rather have Aishraiya Rai or however you spell her name watching me, or that Priya Rai chick spying on me.
- sitharmy, on 05/23/2008, -2/+3well I would have said Gandhi, but that didn't rhyme. And I don't think that domestic spying was a big part of what Mohandas stood for.
- gnomead, on 05/23/2008, -4/+6I'm Indian, and I like funny stereotypes, but this is unfunny. Hollywood has made people too lazy to come up with their own stereotypes. Take 'dunecoon' for example. That's funny. The guy who came up with that has you beat in terms of humour and ignorance. How am I supposed to get offended if you won't even try?
- boombye, on 05/23/2008, -2/+1The average diggers are white males who get offended when you tell them their racial stereotypes and insults aren't funny, because they're all like "screw that politically correct crap" and hate being told they're being racially insensitive.. It ruins the fun, and they already have to watch what they say at work or at school, so they don't want to have to be restricted here either.
Plus it's not like he can come up with a better example, which shows how much some of these kids know about other cultures beyond what they read or see on tv.
Seriously I'm going to get down by a bunch of people who are thinking "oh shut up and stop being so sensitive"
Plenty of these kids act like Sandra Bullock in that movie Crash.
- boombye, on 05/23/2008, -2/+1The average diggers are white males who get offended when you tell them their racial stereotypes and insults aren't funny, because they're all like "screw that politically correct crap" and hate being told they're being racially insensitive.. It ruins the fun, and they already have to watch what they say at work or at school, so they don't want to have to be restricted here either.
- arunforce, on 05/23/2008, -5/+5Why is this getting dugg up? It's kinda racist, because it's stereotypical.
- spynes, on 05/23/2008, -6/+1no blackberry for me, unless the bold is el cheapo
- faizal5k, on 05/23/2008, -10/+3***** THING SUCKS!
- justastatistic, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1I think we've had enough of this stupid meme.
- aflaks, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1get a life.
- usgovterrorists, on 05/23/2008, -4/+5Assume no privacy, steganography, encryption, truecrypt, and a combination of all the possible methods is the best answer for now.
- arrrapirate, on 05/23/2008, -8/+11the thing is, if it were america, england, china, or somewhere in europe, everyone would be making a HUGE stink. but since it's india, everyone just thinks of elephants, apu, and bad traffic.
*cue all sorts of 1984 comments*- newstart, on 05/23/2008, -1/+4At the rate Indian economy is going these stereotypes will be broken soon. I am worried about how they will stereotype us in the years to come....
- foofightrs777, on 05/23/2008, -0/+4Probably something along the lines of drunken wage slaves.
- Risingashes, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1Fat arrogant zealous blowhards.
So pretty much the same as now. - drastik21, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1At the rate Indian population is going these stereotypes will only get worse
*fixed.
- arjie, on 05/23/2008, -1/+2Well, they made a fuss at first because they couldn't track RIM's Blackberrys _like they could track other phones_. That's the important part. We've been tracked all this while, it's just that we didn't know it.
However, our Indian intelligence agencies are horribly inept and there are always moles flying out to the USA with information. They're a joke, so it's hard to take them seriously. The only thing they do right is protecting those high-level politicians. The rest of the time they're busy not detecting terrorists and banning yahoo because someone made a yahoo group for terrorists or something like that..
- newstart, on 05/23/2008, -1/+4At the rate Indian economy is going these stereotypes will be broken soon. I am worried about how they will stereotype us in the years to come....
- industryfinest, on 05/23/2008, -6/+0You just cant stop the Government from doing these things, Great share!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- asasas12, on 05/23/2008, -4/+18War is peace
Freedom is slavery
Ignorance is strength- usgovterrorists, on 05/23/2008, -5/+2That's what the neocons keep telling me!
- mzx639, on 05/23/2008, -4/+1Like you know what a neocon is.
- foofightrs777, on 05/23/2008, -1/+2Isn't that like a new form of a cocoon? We're gonna have some bad ass futuristic butterflies.
- mzx639, on 05/23/2008, -3/+2Digg is worthless
- usgovterrorists, on 05/23/2008, -5/+2That's what the neocons keep telling me!
- cutekelvins, on 05/23/2008, -1/+7Well, India is one of the country where maximum number of sting operations are conducted by the press and most of the time politicians are caught.
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers3/paper212. ...
I guess privacy and freedom go in opposite directions. - digitallysick, on 05/23/2008, -1/+6Rim doesn't care, more cash for them
- Khast, on 05/23/2008, -0/+5Welcome to the new global era of Big Brother. The world is rapidly giving up it's privacy in the name of security.
So, now the big question... They can now peer into your digital life, what are they going to do with this information?
Wish it weren't so, but it probably isn't for the people's best interest...- foofightrs777, on 05/23/2008, -0/+2Security and profit. The later is quite important as without it half of the equation is unsatisfied.
- 0nova, on 05/23/2008, -12/+3I fully back the Indian govt. With so many terrorists strikes, intelligence is the only way out. What's so bad about the situation is that, muslims in India give shelter to terrorists coming into India from Pakistan and Bangladesh and help them plant bombs against their own countrymen. Muslims in India always have an option to go and settle in Pakistan and Bangladesh, but no, they want to live in India and promote terrorism. No wonder in any backlash that happens, they get butchered mercilessly and rightly so.
- cutekelvins, on 05/23/2008, -4/+6Listen guy, that old generation which used to hate India is almost over. New generation of Muslims in India love India as much as you do. India also had a muslim President recently (and 4 in all) and he was the most respected guy during the last few years in India. All the terrorist activities originates from Pakistan and Bangladesh and the illegal migrants from these countries. You can not blame the whole community for this. Sometime people in India also get involved but that is largely due to lack of education in their community. The rest of the trouble is created by people like you by claiming Indian Muslim to be Pakistani. Shame on you.
- warrior007, on 05/23/2008, -2/+4because of few people we can not blame entire community
- dark1587, on 05/23/2008, -0/+4Ummm... what exactly are they going to do/see? All of the data on RIM's network goes across an encrypted connection, if I recall correctly. All they will see is a bunch of junk data.
- dark1587, on 05/23/2008, -1/+2Never mind... they are getting the encryption keys. That's bad. Real bad. Even though this applies to personal users, I foresee this affecting business users as well.
Here is a far better story than engadget with more details on the subject:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Telecom/Govt_m ... - alsiladka, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1Thats what this was all about. The govt. needed the keys to be able to check the data for intelligence.
- dark1587, on 05/23/2008, -1/+2Never mind... they are getting the encryption keys. That's bad. Real bad. Even though this applies to personal users, I foresee this affecting business users as well.
- sharjeelsayed, on 05/23/2008, -3/+7Bad day for the worlds largest democracy.
- alsiladka, on 05/23/2008, -3/+1And what is bad in this? A govt. should be able to check the data coming in and out of the country. Many terrorist strikes have been averted in the recent past because of the intelligence agencies being able to intercept their communications. Blackberry could have become a very easy tech for those guys to communicate without being intercepted by any intell agency.
This was the basic contention of the govt.- kday, on 05/23/2008, -0/+5OMG, terrorists with blackberrys!!!!
- freedomknight, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1I hope you are not head of any intelligence agency.
There are lot more ways transmit stuff on net other than blogs and social communities.
- alsiladka, on 05/23/2008, -3/+1And what is bad in this? A govt. should be able to check the data coming in and out of the country. Many terrorist strikes have been averted in the recent past because of the intelligence agencies being able to intercept their communications. Blackberry could have become a very easy tech for those guys to communicate without being intercepted by any intell agency.
- aserer511, on 05/23/2008, -1/+2I feel like the Indian gov't means well but you can't pull network stability of your ass. No offense to India, a nation that produces many techies, but if RIM can't get it right I doubt some bureaucrats can.
- antiorblkflag9, on 05/23/2008, -4/+1Hey, that's my spray in TF2, and my name happens to be Big Brother
- atish505, on 05/23/2008, -8/+3So much for privacy. This just follows in the aftermath of Google handing over data and address of a user to Indian Police officials a few days back.
India's government is also fast becoming a junta - Russia and Myanmar style - with false encounter deaths, and jailing of political dissidents.
It is really sad that the firms which promise to free up the world base don braking communication barriers become coy and hand in give with the oppressors. Sad Indeed.- ortucis, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1Dude, shut up.
- anewname, on 05/23/2008, -1/+2You need to be using P2P encryption then... Which, if I'm not mistaken, blackberry devices support when used with an enterprise server setup.
Anyone got the goods on that? I'd like to know for sure.- boardo, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1Using S/MIME with AES 256 on the blackberry enterprise server is damn rock solid. Some countries still don't allow AES though to be used, hence 1 of the reasons why 3DES is still lingering.
- Trichomonas, on 05/23/2008, -1/+6Nokia, Samsung and HTC are a lot more popular in India than BBs (from my friends and what I've personally seen...also tech forums like xda-developers).
This was more of a publicity stunt so the government can say they are making an effort to fight terrorism by closely monitoring communication. It has absolutely nothing to do with the privacy of the common person or even the corporations at all.- EndlessRain, on 05/23/2008, -1/+2That's an interesting point of view. However, if this happened in China or Russia would you come to the same conclusion?
- dstz, on 05/23/2008, -2/+4Good thing it's not China, the article would have had at least 5 times more diggs.
- Barackalypse, on 05/23/2008, -2/+0This is really scary given how many tech support calls go through India these days, if they were to monitor those as well they'd have untold power over the American consumer! I wonder if they've been installing backdoors in any outsourced software programming efforts. Of course, the easy way around this is just to encrypt everything.
- jerbaker, on 05/23/2008, -2/+2Frankly, I'm surprised at the number of Diggers who are expressing disappointment with RIM on this. As the infamous Milton Freedman once explained, corporations have no responsibility other than to make as much money as they can. This is the very cornerstone of the free-market philosophy. If RIM can make more money sharing data than they can not sharing data, what do you think they're going to do? As any respectable adherent to the free-market philosophy will tell you, it's not the job of corporations to safeguard your rights or anybody else's. Why the change of heart in this case?
- Thanehand, on 05/23/2008, -1/+2It'll be interesting to see if this has any impact in enhancing iPhone's coming introduction into the corporate world next month.
- ahuxley, on 05/23/2008, -2/+1From RIM to the cremation sites.
http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/india__who_killed_ ... - yabos, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1RIM is in Canada and your US Patriot Act does not apply here. I'm sure the US Govt. is doing the same thing even though RIM doesn't have to comply, they're still bending over.
- slantyeyed, on 05/23/2008, -2/+1I don't blame RIM for protecting their bottom line, but I never thought India was more evil than the US.
- ortucis, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1OMG THEY BE TRACKING MY BERRIES.
INDIA EVIL. US GOOD!
- ortucis, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1OMG THEY BE TRACKING MY BERRIES.
- GreatSunJester, on 05/23/2008, -2/+1On an off topic thought that popped into my head.... since India still has a rigid caste system in place for some people, what would the reaction be if an "untouchable" was on the network? How would the higher castes know and what would the effect upon them be (none in reality as non-caste system people know) ?
- viksmaester, on 05/23/2008, -0/+3People are probably not aware of this but India faces a huge terrorist threat from Jehadis (anyone of heard of recent string of blasts in Jaipur?) These guys use emails, texts, chat rooms to communicate. I personally feel safer with this move, comes at a price but I also know that my personal info won't be sniffed for misused by federal agencies...I'm sure they have better and bigger things to look into
- McShr3dd3r, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1doesn't anybody remember the NSA / AT&T secret rooms? Hello... this IS happening in the US and its not specific to RIM as a manufacturer. It's called the Patriot Act, get used to it.
http://news.cnet.com/AT38T-sued-over-NSA-spy-progr ...
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70619-0.htm ... - AlwaysAwake, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1While clearly this is not "good" news, India, with its economic bubble still rising, is one of the "wild cards" in the climaxing world-wide struggle for domination. Russia, being the other one. All the other major players are aligned with the NWO, including China, So, as the engineered world-wide starvation campaign; the contrived complete economic and financial crash; and the planned World War III begins with the attack on Iran, it will be wise to keep an eye on both India and Russia , to see which side they take. They are the last possible major impediments to complete control and domination by the NWO.
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