Well, let’s not get carried away and just start off with the basics. In a BlackBerry, PIN-to-PIN messaging uses Triple Data Encryption Standard (Triple DES). It is relatively more secure than regular unencrypted e-mail, because the messages are not exactly travelling over the internet; rather, they are routed via the path described below:

• A BBM PIN-to-PIN message sent by a user is sent to the cellular service provider’s network.
• The cellular service provider then forwards the message to the Research in Motion (RIM) relay station in Canada.
• The RIM relay station then relays the message to the receiving BlackBerry’s cellular service provider.
• The (receiving) cellular service provider then transmits the message to the intended recipient.

The Achilles’ heel of BBM is that while PIN-to-PIN messages are encrypted using Triple DES, RIM adds a global cryptographic “key”, which is shared between every BlackBerry device manufactured. This automatically allows a situation (in theory, at least) where, if the messages can be intercepted at the cellular service provider’s network and the hacker party manages to spoof the intended recipient’s PIN, any BlackBerry device can be used to decrypt all PIN-to-PIN messages sent by any other BlackBerry device.While this has never happened as yet, or at least has not been brought to our attention, the scenario lies entirely within the realm of possibility.

The same key, used by all BlackBerry devices to be able to decrypt PIN-to-PIN messages, can be used by RIM at their relay station to decrypt any user’s messages. Again, this is not to suggest that RIM is in the business of reading their users’ content. However, if legally put to the task, RIM can provide decrypted PIN-to-PIN messages in clear-text to law enforcement authorities.

In addition to the above mentioned methods, commercial software is available in the market that can be:

• deployed on your BlackBerry device by a non-authorised user or
• remotely deployed by either state agencies or the network service provider on their behalf.

These software essentially act as key loggers on your BlackBerry, copying and transmitting all sorts of information that you view and have access to your smartphone. Furthermore, a BBM’s data can only be removed by carefully going through the list of applications/services installed on the device or by hard-resetting it.

If, as a business, you choose to keep the message exchange between you and your employees secure, you will need to install a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) at your premises. That is the only way to enhance the security of the message before it leaves your BlackBerry handheld. While it is also possible to deploy Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption on the BlackBerry, it exceeds the scope of this article.

However, it should be understood that if you are not using BES, you should not consider PIN-to-PIN messages as ‘secure’ and/or encrypted. The messages are only scrambled to the point where a normal third party cannot view them.

Now, coming down to the argument being presented in the current political fiasco, it’s understood that privacy advocates will come down hard on RIM to keep it from invading the privacy of the involved users. At the same time, we should also consider the Britain’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which carries stringent provisions for protecting user rights, and makes it nearly impossible, without long court battles, to get hold of the data.

Additionally, many people argue that it is entirely possible that BB chat exchanges can be created, distorted or even modified. This, while possible, remains a highly unlikely eventuality, as this would require alteration of data on the cellular service provider’s network, before being fed into the RIM relay station. As for this Memogate scandal, the Pakistani diplomat was staying in the US back then, therefore it would automatically imply a foreign government’s involvement.

If we take a closer look at events in the past, then this might not be the first time that demand for access to exclusive data has been put forward. RIM’s encrypted communications have caused grievances to oppressive regimes in the Middle East as well. Several countries of the region threatened to ban BlackBerry services altogether if RIM didn’t give them access to BB chat exchanges, primarily for “counter-terrorism purposes”. RIM did eventually agree to provide access – and that is probably what will happen in Pakistan’s case as well.

Abdullah Saad is the co-founder of Wccftech.com and is a freelance writer. He wrote this article for the February 2012 edition of Spider Magazine.

Chaudhry was briefing the parliamentary committee on oil prices. The meeting was chaired by Rana Tanveer, who later walked out in protest over the upcoming price hike.

The petroleum secretary had informed the committee that keeping in view global prices, the government will have to raise the rates accordingly.

Tanveer said that the government gave them “lollipops” every time and the prices would still keep going up. He walked out of the meeting in protest.

Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh then arrived and tried to take the committee into confidence over the decision.

The session is still underway.

KARACHI, Feb 22: Karachi Electric Supply Company has served a final power disconnection notice to provincial finance department to pay the long outstanding dues of major government hospitals of Rs.210 million and warned that electricity of those hospitals would be cut off if bills were not paid within three days.

In a statement issued Wednesday, KESC stated that it served multiple notices to the EDO Health and other leading Govt., run hospitals but to no avail and the power utility until now had been reserving its right to disconnect their power supply, primarily to prevent any inconvenience to the general public on account of non-payment by these public service institutions.

According to breakup, EDO Health owes KESC unpaid power bills around Rs 39.94 million; JPMC, Rs 35 million; Lyari Gen Hospital, Rs 5.3 million; Civil Hospital, Rs 38.3 million; and other hospitals including Saudabad, Rs 90 million.

KESC spokesman said the management of aforementioned hospitals were of the view that relevant ministry had not yet disbursed funds despite repeated approaches. He said KESC’s notice pertaining to power disconnection will come into effect if there is no firm action taken in the next 3 days to clear the outstanding dues of Rs 21crores. Since the past couple of years, it has been the policy of the KESC’s management to exempt these above mentioned leading public service institutions from load shedding and provide them priority service in case of any power failure or unplanned power outages, only in the larger public interest. However, the hospital managements, health department and the finance ministry have not shown any reciprocating response, as they have not been paying their electricity bills since long. In addition to the unpaid arrears the monthly bills are also accumulating, in return snowballing the already huge payable figure.

Spokesman added that this undue burden on the already constrained financial resources of KESC had left the utility with no option but to serve disconnection notices to these public health facilities in order to open the eyes of those responsible for payment of bills. KESC asked the concerned authorities to make immediate payment of pending power bills to save the general public from any trouble.

Speaking Wednesday at TDAP presentation on export promotion strategy of fruits, vegetables and related issues at PM House, Gilani noted fruits export doubled and vegetables registered four-fold increase in last four years as compared to previous four years (2004-2008). However, exports were still short of potential, he observed.

He asked Commerce Ministry & TDAP to set up cold storage facilities in Sargodha & Bhalwal for kinnows, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan & Mirpurkhas to increase shelf-life of fruits, vegetables and reach out to research institutions. He urged provinces for maximizing export potential and comprehensive plan to enhance productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, more competitiveness to get higher prices.

He directed strategy be evolved to boost fruits, vegetables export following principles of public, private partnership. TDAP should organize exhibition of quality products in Qatar whose government promised during his visit to extend all-out assistance for holding it to create demand for Pakistani fruits, vegetables.

Secretary Commerce said Pakistan has great potential for fruits, vegetables export and Ministry plans to increase these to world market. Though we are fourth largest producer of dates, we stand at 6th place among its exporting countries on value basis. He said government plans to establish mango pack house, cold storage facility centres at Multan, Nawabshah, Dates processing institute at Khairpur, Agro Food Technology Institute at Lahore, Vapour Heat Treatment Plant facility centre at Karachi. New markets for mangoes, kinnows are Japan, USA, Mauritius, Lebanon, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, South Africa & Iran.

Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Secretary Commerce, Secretary Planning & Development, Secretary National Food Security & Research, Chief Executive TDAP were present.

According to Syrian sources, the roadside bomb went off on a highway on Wednesday as a group of law enforcement officers were inspecting the site of an earlier explosion in the area.

Two Western journalists have been killed in Homs after shells hit the makeshift media center in the Baba Amr area of the city, opposition activists reported.

The two journalists were named as Marie Colvin, an American Sunday Times reporter, and Remi Ochlik, a French photographer.

Several other people were also killed and at least three foreign journalists were wounded in the attack.

Armed groups fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been carrying out terrorist operations targeting civilians and security personnel in Homs over the past weeks with residents of the city trapped inside and running out of basic necessities.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for a daily two-hour ceasefire to provide aid to the worst affected areas and get civilians out, but there was no response from the armed groups.

The Syrian interior ministry has expressed determination to end the terrorist acts across the country, especially in Homs.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. The violence has claimed the lives of hundreds, reportedly including over 2,000 security forces.

Damascus blames ‘outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups’ for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

KARACHI, Feb 22:  Pakistan is a very young country and attention to good education and vocational training for youth are the key to its bright future. These views were expressed by German Consul General Dr Tilo Klinner at an informal interaction with the media held at the chancery last evening.

Dr Klinner spoke in detail about Pakistan German ties and said cooperation between the two countries depended upon those areas and sectors which met the most urgent and pressing needs of Pakistani society.

He said youth was an important asset Pakistan as it comprised 65 percent of the population. Germany, he said, was keen to strengthen the traditional academic cooperation with special focus on vocational training schemes, and a pilot project was in the offing. He added the objective was to impart vocational training and chances employment in German MNCs operating in Pakistan. He pointed out there was a bright future for demanding jobs like lab specialists, pharmaceutical, technology and power generation enterprises.

Referring to economic cooperation and trade ties, Dr Klinner said the Pakistan German Business Council was striving to bring more German investment to Pakistan beside the 12 blue chip German companies operating here. However, he said small and medium enterprises were reluctant because of negative media projection which painted Pakistan in an adverse light. The German Consul General said he had spoken at numerous German chambers of commerce and other fora to give a correct picture. He said German giants like Siemens and BASF had a decades long and fruitful association with Pakistan. He said Germany was also instrumental in helping Pakistan acquire access to European markets through the EU GSP scheme.

Dr Klinner specifically mentioned two areas that he felt need should be explored further between both countries. One was solutions and development of infrastructure for megacities. He said Karachi was likely to become the tenth largest city in the world by 2023 and fourth largest by 2050. This posed a real challenge to city’s planners and there was pressing need to develop an efficient and cheap mass transit system and state of the art waste management and water management facilities. Germany had the expertise and know-how in this respect.

The second area mentioned by the German diplomat was alternative energy sources. He said Germany was the leader in producing energy from solar and wind power. He added that eight wind energy projects were being set up in Sindh. He said the Thar coal project could also benefit from German experience as Thar coal was of Lignite variety and Germany had vast expertise of using Lignite coal reserves.

DUBAI, Feb 22: Pakistan captain Misbah ul-Haq said his side are desperate to redress the balance in a Twenty20 international against England Thursday after a one-day series whitewash by the tourists.

England on Tuesday completed a 4-0 rout over the Pakistanis, and showed a big improvement from their 3-0 defeat in the preceding three-Test series.

Misbah wants his side to regain the upper hand, but also wants to use the match as a stepping stone towards the World Twenty20 series later this year.

“This is a very important series for us, more so because we won the Tests, they won the ODIs and now it’s almost the decider,” said Misbah.

“And if you consider that this is World Twenty20 year, it’s very important for us to come back.”

England will defend the title they won in the West Indies in 2010 when Sri Lanka host the fourth edition of the World Twenty20.

“I think we need to learn from England on how they transformed their fortunes in ODIs, and I am confident that my boys can do that,” added Misbah.

“I don’t think we were dispirited, because the team wants a win desperately and that’s why we were like that. Everybody was trying to give one hundred percent and when it slips out of your hand it seems you are disjointed.”

Pakistan will ring some changes, with experienced batsman Younis Khan and Azhar Ali returning home while dashing uncapped left-handed opener Awais Zia joins the Twenty20 squad.