RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A preliminary agreement between the maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which government officials say grants them some access to users’ data, will avert a ban on the phone in that country.
The pact involves placing a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia, Saudi telecom regulatory officials said. That likely will let the government monitor messages and allay official fears that the service could be used for criminal purposes.
Bandar al-Mohammed, an official at the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission, said that BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. has expressed its “intention . . . to place a server inside Saudi Arabia.”
Even though RIM encrypts e-mails, the deal would open messages to Saudi surveillance, said Bruce Schneier, an author and chief security technology officer at British telecommunications operator BT.
RIM could be setting a worldwide precedent for how technology companies and governments get along. Several countries see the devices as a security threat because encrypted information sent on them is difficult, if not impossible, for local governments to monitor when it doesn’t pass through domestic servers.
Saudi security officials fear that militant groups could use the service to avoid detection. Countries such as India and the United Arab Emirates have expressed similar concerns.
But e-mails sent by BlackBerry users are encrypted only as they pass between phones and the company’s servers, Schneier said.
Within the server, messages must be unencrypted for sorting and distribution.
“It renders the encryption irrelevant to the Saudi Arabian government,” Schneier said. “They’ll read everything.”
RIM, based in Toronto, declined to comment on the proposed deal Saturday but referred to a statement it issued last week denying it has given some governments access to BlackBerry data.
Schneier said the Saudi arrangement is similar to deals RIM has struck in Russia and China. Al-Mohammed declined to provide more details of the continuing talks before an official announcement, which he said was expected soon.
Popular device
A customer shops at a cellphone store in the capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last week. The Associated Press
BlackBerry smartphones are popular both among businesspeople and youths in Saudi Arabia who see the devices’ relatively secure communication features as a way to avoid attention from the authorities. Local media estimate there are about 750,000 BlackBerry users in the country.
