Nokia And Siemens Aiding Iranian Government?

I’ve done some research on this and I think I can verify that the following is true.

From Washington Times:

Two European companies — a major contractor to the U.S. government and a top cell-phone equipment maker — last year installed an electronic surveillance system for Iran that human rights advocates and intelligence experts say can help Iran target dissidents.

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), a joint venture between the Finnish cell-phone giant Nokia and German powerhouse Siemens, delivered what is known as a monitoring center to Irantelecom, Iran’s state-owned telephone company.

A spokesman for NSN said the servers were sold for “lawful intercept functionality,” a technical term used by the cell-phone industry to refer to law enforcement’s ability to tap phones, read e-mails and surveil electronic data on communications networks.

Trust me, “lawful intercept functionality” means that the Iranian government is able to track folks a lot more effectively now than they did before. History has shown us at least one example of how technology has been utilized to roundup folks who didn’t play by the rules.

And yes, of course that’s an extreme example, but when people are being shot in the streets and axed by militants.

So if you own a Nokia or Siemens phone, or if subscribe to their mobile service, well, you may want to rethink that.

Here’s the question: Would you get rid of your mobile service because your provider helped out the Iranian government?

By the way, I would.

No pressure…

(Photo: AP via Daylife)