Canada project aims to track BlackBerry traffic

Canadian computer scientists have launched a project to track BlackBerry traffic exiting Research In Motion's encrypted network, with a focus on countries that have sought greater access.

The United Arab Emirates said this month that it had resolved a dispute with RIM, without providing details, while a source said in August that RIM had given Saudi Arabia codes to allow authorities to track its BlackBerry Messenger service. RIM has granted Indian authorities access to Messenger but remains locked in negotiations over access to encrypted data sent via the Waterloo, Ontario-based company's enterprise servers. The project, called RIM Check, is being conducted by the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab and Ottawa-based think tank SevDev Group.