KEY POINTS:
It's the tool of choice for busy executives the world over, but the Blackberry phone and email device's greatest attribute is proving a turn-off to some.
The French Government is banning use of Blackberrys among public servants amid worries that the device's communications are open to interception by US and British intelligence agencies.
That concern could apply to any communications device, but rests on the fact that the centralised nature of Blackberry maker Research In Motion's email platform means messages are routed through its servers in the US and Britain.
The French have long been touchy about industrial sabotage at a national level especially in the aviation industry where billions of dollars worth of contracts are being chased by Boeing and rival Airbus.
The US has legislated provisions that allow for communications interception within the US with the issue of a warrant.
That's often used in the US authorities' pursuit of terrorists.
The Echelon electronic surveillance network picks up international communications, which in theory could include data sent from mobile devices.
It's unofficial, secret monitoring designed to promote America's economic interests that the French seem most concerned about.
Our Government ministers are big fans of Blackberrys which are offered by Vodafone, but there are also concerns about the device's security credentials in this part of the world.
As Computerworld editor Rob O'Neill reports the Australian Defence Signals Directorate stipulated in 2004 that the devices not be used by the eavesdropping agency for sending highly-sensitive information. The policy remains in place.
Most of the information we send and receive via the internet is going through offshore servers.
When TelstraClear and Telecom de-peered from the country's peering exchanges, which swapped internet traffic between carriers, some traffic was instead routed outside of New Zealand, in theory making it fair game for Echelon, which isn't allowed to spy on its citizens' communications.
The risk of industrial espionage is ever-present these days but are the French overstating the case? Is something else at play here?
