by Raja Faisal
ISLAMABAD: Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) cyber investigation experts and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) say that it is impossible to retrieve and prove the authenticity of the Blackberry Messenger (BBM) data if one of the phones is unavailable.
“BBM is most secretive messaging service. If an individual deletes his data, no external authority can retrieve its data except the Blackberry authorities”, an officer of the FIA cyber wing told Pakistan Today.
FIA cyber wing normally investigates cases by collecting retrieved data or the handsets. Normal messaging service is easily retrievable. Normally the data of handsets of the individuals under investigation is easily collating the events minute by minute but there are cases where systems do carry anomalies. BBM service never cooperates to retrieve a data used in an incident, while, on the other hand, various software and websites can also be used to forge the messages.
“If one of the handset’s data is unavailable, it will be impossible to prove anything until service provider provides the data”, FIA officer added.
A PTA source said that no one had yet contacted the PTA or filed an application to retrieve the data of any handset involved in the recent messaging scandal that was unfolded by MNA Ayesha Gulalai in her early August presser. The PTA can only retrieve selective calls or messaging data from the handsets and the cellular service provider. The authority cannot retrieve BBMs of any user.
“I have been using Blackberry in past; fake BBMs through websites and software could easily be crafted back then”, PTA source added.
Earlier, Ayesha Gulalai – a member of National Assembly from South Waziristan – had left the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), claiming that the women affiliated with the party faced constant harassment at the hands of individuals within the party. She alleged that women working in the party received questionable text messages, which was the reason she had quit the PTI.
She blamed PTI chairman, Imran Khan, of ill-texting in past. Looking at the magnitude of the matter, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, ordered to form a 20 member-committee to probe the allegations.
The PTI rejected Ayesha Gulalai’s claims as politically motivated. Women members of the party appeared on social as well as electronic media to condemn the allegations of Gulalai.