BlackBerry to exit Pakistan after government demands 'back door' access to servers

BlackBerry today announced it would cease operations in Pakistan and exit completely by Dec. 30. The move comes after the Pakistan government asked the smartphone maker to give it unfettered access to its secure BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) servers.

Earlier in July, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority notified carriers that BES servers won't be allowed to operate in the country citing security reasons. BlackBerry, however, claims the Pakistani government's demands had nothing to do with public safety.

"The truth is that the Pakistani government wanted the ability to monitor all BlackBerry Enterprise Service traffic in the country, including every BES e-mail and BES BBM [BlackBerry Messenger] message. But BlackBerry will not comply with that sort of directive. As we have said many times, we do not support 'back doors' granting open access to our customers’ information and have never done this anywhere in the world," BlackBerry COO, Marty Beard wrote in a blog post announcing the company's decision to exit Pakistan. Read more...