14 DAY TRIAL // The security of the BlackBerry smartphones and their communications, one of the features that has made them so popular, is making certain police investigations impossible, a Liberal member of the Canadian Parliament argues. Therefore, she has reintroduced a bill that forces wireless service providers to make the technology easier to tap.
The BlackBerry represents one of Canada's best examples of successful businesses. The widespread smartphone is designed and manufactured by Research In Motion (RIM), a company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. In October 2008, RIM was included on the list of "Canada's Top 100 Employers."
Initially designed for the corporate environment, the BlackBerry was quickly adopted by businessmen, politicians, security professionals, law enforcement officials and generally anyone concerned with the privacy of their messages. Even the President of the United States is using such a device, most likely with some modifications made to it.
RIM develops all of the handset's underlying software in-house, including the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), used by providers and enterprises to interconnect the smartphones. BES employs strong encryption for all communications, making it nearly impossible for them to be intercepted.
According to Supt. Pat Fogerty of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia, the criminals also prefer using these devices to avoid being caught. "They completely know that this technology is to their advantage, and they will stay on that technology until such time that there is new technology that will be even more secure," he comments for CBC News.
In addition to the "built-in" security, the outlaws apparently also employ extra software to add multiple layers of encryption to their transmissions. This is not to the liking of Liberal MP Marlene Jennings, who says that wiretapping is "an essential tool for the battle against crime."
Ms. Jennings is currently pushing for a bill dating back to 2005 that would force telecommunications providers to adapt their technologies and make it easier to intercept communications. Entitled "the Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act (MITA)," the bill was introduced and rejected two times before, in 2006 and 2007.
The companies have expressed concerns over the costs of meeting the requirements formulated in this proposed act, but the Liberal MP explains that the government could cover part of them. According to CBC News, Canada already has problems with the wiretapping legislation, which, for example, does not currently require obtaining a warrant in order to force providers into disclosing information about their customers.