Research in Motion (RIM) is once again implicated in the security debate as its BlackBerry range is now being singled out as a security risk by the German government, which has ordered its members to stop using the smartphones.
The warning came after senior IT security officials adviced the government that an unprecedented rise in attacks against smartphones used by politicians is on the horizon.
German authorities are concerned about the way which BlackBerry smartphones transmit and store encrypted data to RIM’s secure data centres in Canada.
Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told business daily Handelsblatt: "The government must keep it very much in mind that it has to protect its own network effectively.
“BlackBerry's infrastructure is a company-owned closed system. But the access standard must be capable of being set by the government and not by a private company."
This advice was originally given last year, but it has become a talking point at the moment after similar security concerns about BlackBerry services were raised in India, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
Mr de Maiziere predicts a “dramatic rise in attacks” against German networks, particularly those run by the government.
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