On August 1st it was reported that Dubai was making moves to shut down the Blackberry messaging service due to security concerns. India seems to be following suit with threats of shutting down the Blackberry service as well. The main concern here is that Blackberry text and email messaging services are highly encrypted, making it very difficult for government agencies to monitor transactions and communication.
According to the NYTimes, the decision could have significant implications for BlackBerry use in the Persian Gulf region, where Saudi Arabia has been closely studying the issue and may follow suit. Other countries, including Kuwait and Bahrain, have also raised concerns.
So is this the end of Blackberry messaging services as we know it?
Even though the Blackberry currently holds the largest market share in the mobile phone market, with entire countries banning the Blackberry device and messaging services, it won’t take long for Blackberry to find themselves in a very hard spot.
Thoughts?