Criminals like Blackberries security features

[Fire14]

BlackBerry Security Features Appeals to Criminals

A report into crime problems in Canada's British Columbia has found that criminals are increasingly turning to BlackBerry handsets due to their increased security compared to conventional mobile phones. The annual Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP report into criminal threats devoted an entire section to this evolving trend.

"The BlackBerry [server] was created with corporate data security in mind," states the RCMP report, obtained by The Vancouver Sun newspaper through the Access to Information Act. "Until recently, this system was only affordable by companies such as Telus, CIBC, and the like; they are now more affordable and it is easy for individuals to set up a network."

The move is causing problems for the police as the security layers within the BlackBerry make it almost impossible to eavesdrop on phone calls and messages sent via the handsets.

Even when police confiscate a criminal's actual BlackBerry, cracking its password to view the messages stored on it can be a challenge, Staff Sgt. Bruce Imrie, head of the RCMP's Vancouver Integrated Technological Crime Unit told the newspaper.

"Your general street-level criminal doing organized shoplifting is not as likely to have a BlackBerry as your high-end ____ trafficker," he said. "[And] depending on the sophistication of the criminal organization, the use of the BlackBerry seems to increase."

The 500-page RCMP report, titled the Integrated Threat Assessment on Organized Crime, is produced each year.

On the Web: The Vancouver Sun

BlackBerry Security Features Appeals to Criminals

[hf1khal]

Wow I never thought og them possibly doing that. However,I still think if they are using other email ISPs then they can still monitor those too.

[RJB]

Man that things that people think of

[Shizam76]

Well...thankfully the criminals in my area have not turned to the blackberry yet!

[AnthroMatt]

Good, my cell cannot be "wire-tapped"