Things aren’t looking too hot for RIM as the global BlackBerry ban saga continues. First, it was the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and Indonesia; now we have Germany considering a ban on the smartphone, too. The big difference here, however, is Germany is considering the ban for government use given an increase in “cyber attacks” against high officials and civil servants.
Apparently, the changes are being strongly recommended to take effect immediately according to Fast Company:
The announcement comes following an “urgent” recommendation by federal IT security agency BSI, which suggested the German government switch to Simko devices offered by Deutsche Telekom. Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere explained that “a rise in attacks against our networks and in particular against government networks” has led officials to reconsider whether the smartphones’ security was aligned with its own. “BlackBerry’s infrastructure is a company-owned closed system,” he said. “But the access standard must be capable of being set by the government and not by a private company.”
But it’s not just BlackBerry smartphones that are being put under pressure, but the iPhone is under scrutiny, too. Exploits found in iOS, such as the browser vulnerability discovered last week that allowed jailbreaking over the web, are causing concern for the German government.
Aside from enterprise consumers, government contracts is a good chunk of RIM’s bread and butter. Rising security concerns might mean changes for the Canada-based BlackBerry maker, although it would have to compromise its prized security system. Its method of encryption and security are part of the reason why BlackBerry has been so popular with governments worldwide and enterprise users, too.
Unfortunately for RIM, once more governments ban the use of its smartphone, whether for officials, civil servants or its citizens, international expansion is going to be much more tricky. Attempting to stay ahead of the game, or at least on pace with iPhond and Android, is beginning to look a little more bleak.
[Via: Fast Company]