When Carriers Update Your BlackBerry With Spyware

How scary is this? A BlackBerry upgrade sent out by the service provider Etisalat in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is actually spyware.

RIM says they had nothing to do with the update it, and are telling affected people how to get rid of it. So far, no one knows exactly why the carrier sent out the update, described as “required for service enhancements.” It’s actually a spy program developed by SS8 Networks, a company that makes communications interception software.

It’s not only frightening on the same level as Amazon’s ability to remotely delete books from thousands of Kindles at once—but customers had no clue they were downloading spyware. They just noticed it killed the crap out of their batteries.

So maybe think twice, or even three times, about just how secure your smartphone is. Luckily mine are just filled with photos of fancy coffee drinks, and you can see them for free on Twitter anyway. [Yahoo]