Concerned with potential national security breaches, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced on Sunday that they plan to block the use of BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web features. The decision, which goes into effect in October, comes from a fear that encrypted BlackBerry data might be exploited by criminals who cannot be monitored by the local authorities.

The UAE, which is home to the Gulf business capital Dubai and the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi, is at risk of damaging its business-friendly reputation. Some companies may have some concerns about conducting business in an anti-BlackBerry state.

”They’ll think now they’ve banned the BlackBerry, maybe next time it’ll be the Internet,” said Shakir Mahmood, a Dubai-based debt collector and BlackBerry user originally from Iraq.

Government censorship in both Muslim conservative countries already block access to certain websites on the Internet. The oil-rich UAE has been at odds with BlackBerry previously. According to The Associated Press, a year ago, the smartphone maker accused the UAE of encouraging users of its state-owned mobile operator, Etisalat, to download spyware disguised as software described as an “upgrade … required for service enhancements.” The spy software would allow outsiders to access private information stored on the phones.

”The authorities have used a variety of arguments, like it can be used by terrorists” to justify the crackdown, said Christopher Davidson, a professor at the University of Durham in Britain, who has written extensively about the region. ”Yes that’s true, but it can also be used by civil society campaigners and activists.”

Officials in neither country would confirm whether the bans would affect foreign BlackBerry users visiting the region.

Source via Kidult

Just get an iPhone…oh wait…