united arab emirates

Facebook plans to open its first Middle East office in Dubai next week, according to the Associated Press. This United Arab Emirates city is considered the Silicon Valley of the region and so it makes sense that the social network would put its Persian Gulf hub here.

With 80 percent of users outside the U.S. and Canada and more than 70 languages being used on the social network, Facebook has a massive global presence. Besides several offices throughout the U.S., the company also has 18 international offices, from Auckland to Hyderabad to Tokyo. Its international headquarters are in … Read more

With slumping sales in the West, Research In Motion has plans to go to the East. The BlackBerry maker is in the process of opening retail stores throughout the Middle East starting in Dubai, according to Bloomberg.

"We're getting the first one up and running and then we'll be looking at other cities across the Middle East -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar," Sandeep Saihgal, the managing director of RIM's Middle East business, told Bloomberg in an interview earlier this week.

The Dubai store in the United Arab Emirates will be the flagship shop and Bloomberg … Read more

RIM yesterday reiterated that it's unable to provide the Indian government with the means to access secure e-mails on its enterprise network, despite a looming deadline.

Robert Crow, Research In Motion's vice president for Industry, Government and University, repeated the company's familiar position. Speaking to reporters yesterday in New Delhi, Crow said that RIM does not have the ability to turn over the keys to the encrypted data flowing over its BlackBerry Enterprise Server because those keys are held by its corporate customers.

Despite promises to India that it would offer a permanent solution by January 31, … Read more

Research In Motion has been butting heads with foreign governments over its tight security, but its latest BlackBerry 6 OS has won approval from the U.S. government for those same standards.

RIM announced today that its BlackBerry 6 operating system is now FIPS 140-2 certified. FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) is a series of standards set up by the U.S. government to ensure that computer products meet certain high-level security requirements. The standard is used by government agencies, regulated industries, and other organizations that store and send data dealing with sensitive information.

The FIPS 140-2 standard (PDF) specifically … Read more

India has canceled a ban of BlackBerry services that was scheduled to occur at the end of October.

A press release from India's Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday confirmed the news, saying that discussions with RIM had led to an interim agreement under which BlackBerry Messenger services could continue. This agreement provides the Indian government with access to the lawful interception of data over the BlackBerry network, according to the ministry. Further, RIM has promised India that it would offer a final solution by January 31, to give the government continued access.

Details of the agreement were not … Read more

Research In Motion and the United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement to call off a BlackBerry ban that was scheduled to start Monday.

Today's press release (Google Translate version) from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), which regulates telecommunications for the UAE, confirmed that all BlackBerry services will continue as usual and not be suspended on October 11.

The agency said that BlackBerry services are now compatible with the UAE's regulatory framework and added that RIM had cooperated in offering a compatible solution. Beyond that, the agency offered no details as far as specific actions or measures that … Read more

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is supposedly working with officials in Saudi Arabia to make sure that BlackBerry users don't lose access to mobile e-mail, several news agencies reported Friday.

Government officials in Saudi Arabia announced earlier this week that they were ordering the country's three wireless operators to block BlackBerry messenger service. Officials said RIM's stringent security does not comply with policies of Saudi Arabia and presented a security risk.

BlackBerry Messenger service was expected to stop on Friday. So far, the Saudi telecommunications regulator, known as the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), has not … Read more

The U.S. and Canadian governments are getting involved with a dispute between some foreign governments and Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, over those countries' restrictions of the device.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would try to help broker a resolution between the two sides.

"We are taking time to consult and analyze the full range of interests and issues at stake because we know that there is a legitimate security concern, but there's also a legitimate right of free use and access," The Wall Street Journal reported … Read more

Research In Motion says its customer information is secure despite reports that the company may make some concessions to the United Arab Emirates to loosen up the data security on its BlackBerry networks.

On Sunday, the UAE said it would block e-mail, instant messaging, and Web browsing on BlackBerry devices starting October 11 if it fails to reach an agreement with RIM to bring BlackBerry services in the region in line with UAE telecommunications regulations. Reports also say the Kuwaiti government has asked RIM to cut off access to porn sites, and Saudi Arabia wants RIM's Messenger app shut off.

Facing a ban of key services, RIM is reportedly considering some concessions to address the UAE's concerns over the tight security of the BlackBerry network, according to Reuters, citing reports from several newspapers. The UAE has complained that the strong security used to encrypt the data of BlackBerry customers violates its own regulations and prevents it from monitoring such data in the name of national security.

But on Tuesday, RIM issued a statement to its customers, telling them that their data is secure.

In its statement, the company explained that data on its BlackBerry Enterprise Server network is encrypted so that no one, not even RIM, can access it. RIM added that it would be unable to "accommodate any request for a copy of a customer's encryption key since at no time does RIM, or any wireless network operator, ever possess a copy of the key." The company explained that it doesn't possess a "master key" nor does any "back door" exist that would allow RIM or a third party to gain access to the key or the data.… Read more