RIM CEO: the Internet is encrypted, deal with it

If you haven’t been following the soap opera that is going on between the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and RIM let us fill you in. The UAE and KSA will halt BlackBerry data services beginning October 11th and August 5th respectively citing concerns over national security. For the most part, RIM has remained quiet noting the delicate and sensitive nature of talks at the state level. However, that all changed yesterday. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that RIM CEO Michael Lazaridis has released a statement saying, “This is about the Internet. Everything on the Internet is encrypted. This is not a BlackBerry-only issue. If they can’t deal with the Internet, they should shut it off.” We’re assuming when Mr. Lazaridis says “everything on the Internet is encrypted” he is referring to SSL and the like. The BlackBerry maker CEO continued, “We have dealt with this before. This will get resolved. And it will get resolved if there is a chance for rational discussion.” We say good for RIM. What do you think?

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