BlackBerry patch designed to “enhance performance” turned out to be surveillance application [View All]

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BlackBerry Update, A Surveillance Application: RIM Patrick Michael

22 July 2009 DUBAI - Thirteen days after etisalat issued a patch that was designed to “enhance performance”, Research in Motion (RIM) said on Tuesday “etisalat appears to have distributed a telecommunications surveillance application” designed and developed by California-based company SS8.

The BlackBerry ‘snifferware’, which can intercept emails and drain battery life quickly, was pushed as an update to 145,000 BlackBerry users on the etisalat network. Over 300 of them immediately complained their smartphone had been rendered useless with the battery dying out on them in less than 60 minutes.

The etisalat update was sent to users on July 8 as a wide-area protocol (WAP) message. The Java file could intercept data and send a copy to a server without the user’s knowledge.

“Independent sources have concluded that it is possible that the installed software could then enable unauthorised access to private or confidential information stored on the user’s smartphone,” said an eight-page customer update from RIM, BlackBerry’s parent company.

“RIM confirms that this software is not a patch and it is not a RIM authorised upgrade. 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,” it said.

etisalat has not commented on RIM’s statement.