[pfluger]

Not sure if this has been posted already. I guess this is related to the 10.3 leaks?

Taking Action to Stop Leaks | Inside BlackBerry

[diegonei]

From the article, he'll plug both device and software leaks.

[FOR RIM]

yes and the devices leaked it kinda proves that these devices are real yeah blackberry love you

[eddy_berry]

I understand where he is coming from. I like leaks because, as a fan, I get to see what they are working on. But having that information out in the open can be damaging too. Especially if certain things get out to competitors that could potentially move faster and beat them to market on their design or innovation. Don't want that happening. Even though we will be giving up leak OS, it might be best that BlackBerry locks down their development. I would just hope that they could be more open about what we can expect in the coming months. Give us a little bit of detail and leave out the sensitive stuff.

[xxjavaxx2001]

The thing is.. with leaks they are able to receive feedbacks on what they are trying to do.. example they released an official version which the majority dont like, then it would backfire..

Posted via CB10

[Namueab]

The thing is.. with leaks they are able to receive feedbacks on what they are trying to do.. example they released an official version which the majority dont like, then it would backfire..

Posted via CB10

I agree. However, the leaks also take away the "element of surprise". We find out all of the features before it's released, yet we complain that there are no new added features when it goes official.

Z30

[digitalman101]

Someone went as far as tricking BlackBerry as being a partner/carrier personnel ... and had access to confidential information??

Chen, something is wrong with BlackBerry security. Is BlackBerry ISO 27001 certified company? Perhaps you should have not leaked this information.



Posted via CB10

[KDB84]

I'm guessing this is how the leaks have gotten out in the past - an employee letting a 'buddy' into the system with fake carrier rep credentials as a high-level CYA attempt. . . sad that we'll be seeing less inside information on devices an OS versions, but probably better for the company as a whole. All the happiness we feel after uncovering the secrets in the leaks, we'll now be getting when the official info is released (I hope).

[VR6]

Chen is targeting fan sites too?

"We will always take appropriate actions to prevent leaks from happening and in some cases this means prosecuting individuals ? internally or externally ? who leak confidential information."

Posted via CB10

[donnation]

I would have gotten rid of my Z10 if it wasn't for leaks. It made the phone actually useable. I understand it from a hardware standpoint but from a leaked OS standpoint it sucks.

[Sith_Apprentice]

I agree. However, the leaks also take away the "element of surprise". We find out all of the features before it's released, yet we complain that there are no new added features when it goes official.

Z30

Leaks kept people on BlackBerry I would say. From 10.0 until 10.2 things were really bad lol

[OniBerry]

Sounds like he is talking about future handsets and design elements of various projects, not leaked OS versions.

[iToya]

Say it ain't so! I get where he's coming from, but I'm like the leak queen!

I need leaks or I'd still be waiting on AT&T to get its head out of its patootie. We have other methods to get official OS onto our phones, but I like seeing the latest and greatest from BlackBerry from the leaks.

If anything, they should let me into a beta tester group so I don't have to quit cold turkey.

[donmateo]

I wonder who pretended to be a carrier and what they received...

Posted via CB10

[scorpio1984]

Say it ain't so! I get where he's coming from, but I'm like the leak queen!

I need leaks or I'd still be waiting on AT&T to get its head out of its patootie. We have other methods to get official OS onto our phones, but I like seeing the latest and greatest from BlackBerry from the leaks.

If anything, they should let me into a beta tester group so I don't have to quit cold turkey.

Exactly I get it but if their going to be strict about the leaks then we need to get updates a lot faster we shouldn't just be starting to see the official 10.2 rolling out

Posted via CB10

[Namueab]

Leaks kept people on BlackBerry I would say. From 10.0 until 10.2 things were really bad lol

Oh, I fully agree with this as well, 10.2.xxx is GREATLY improved and much better that previous versions have been. I'm a huge fan of the leaks and have been installing them for years. It is a great way to quickly discover bugs and quirks through consumer testing as "most" members of this site contribute to. I do see both sides though.

[Uzi]

Leaker come and go

carry on...

Posted via CB10

[felberry83]

And don't forget that thanks to leaks we can do better marketing of the OS features than what BlackBerry does!

Posted via CB10

[1magine]

Leaks kept people on BlackBerry I would say. From 10.0 until 10.2 things were really bad lol

@Sith - what about the Storm. The return rate which was highest in device history, not just BB history, would have approached 100% were it not for constant leaks. Same is true for a whole host of devices leading up to BB10.

Same is true of Hardware. I will re-post from my front page response.

Leaks are the full result of a frustrated clientele; which surely includes BB insiders. Kevin has addressed part of this previously. Regular software updates and regular 'honest' communication with end users is key. I know there is a balance here, but shareholders have no loyalty and will flee at the drop of a hair, if end users abandon BB. In fact this has taken place over the last few years. Leaks, may not be advantageous under most circumstances, but if Chen is honest with himself, and truly understands the history here, MUST accept that leaks have kept Blackberry afloat the last 2 years. Many corporate users in the US stuck on 10.1 would have fled to IOS if 10.2 and 10.2.1 leaks had not come along so early. Even if they were buggy, they gave some hope. And in many cases the leaks were far less buggy that the official OS. Same holds true of the devices. It was way too long waiting for their release. The leaks kept many hanging on waiting. Sorry if anyone can't see it. But having lived in the forums much of the last 6+ years, I fully believe it to be true.

[MADBRADNYC]

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted...

[sixpacker]

Chen is targeting fan sites too?

"We will always take appropriate actions to prevent leaks from happening and in some cases this means prosecuting individuals ? internally or externally ? who leak confidential information."

Posted via CB10

I presume he's mainly going after the leakers, rather than people using a leak. However, he seems fond of litigation, so maybe he'll go after everybody.
Still not sure why he went public on this, given its a security embarrassment, and could be dealt with internally.

[cbvinh]

The relevant part of the communication is this:

"This is why I want to make you aware that, right now, we are pursuing legal action against a party who stole confidential information about a future BlackBerry product and made that information public. This person falsely posed as an employee of one of our carrier partners to obtain access to secured networks.

I recognize that, in some cases, the leaks reflect people’s genuine interest in BlackBerry. There are a lot of people whose enthusiasm for our company and our products makes them want to know what we will do next — and that can be a tremendous asset for us as a brand.

But, when curiosity turns to criminality, we must take strong action."

He's not going to tolerate people posing as a carrier partner to obtain confidential info.

[mkiiw]

I believe it is the hardware roadmap, made John feel that is not the right way to do it... too much info leaked...

for the sw leak, if it is a controlled leak, it is a good thing for the OS. For the current company size of bbry, it is a given, there will less people to do beta testing. So should they rely on carrier to do testing ? (ATT, VZW ? Roger, Telus ? ), chances of we seen updated OS is even less without leak (once or twice a year)

I think as long as it is a controlled leak.. it is helping OS to be mature, with less end user complaints, since the leak tester will be suffer first, and given feedback. In fact they are already accept, when they run the autoloader, something might be not working. Worse cast restore the OS, that is 100 times better than a end user run a half baked OS release (version 10.0, version 10.1) which had pass the carrier test, and it will ruined up the buyer experience. Plus the ratios of non tech savvy is higher, when there is a problem, they call carrier support is, we can't help you, it is bb's fault. We seen this happen..

Leak tester contributes many things.. restart issue, email 30-90 days retention feedback, android player issue... We are here to help, use it too.

[DueNorthBB]

It could be the 10.3 leaks that is out since it is a very early cut and it still has the device ID #s on the side (from the screenshots). I guess carriers get these before hand to help with the validation process.

At that early stage, I believe leaks are harmful since it is still proof of concept and can spread misinformation (a lot could change). How would you like it when a feature gets dropped or something functions totally different from what you thought later on? It would also give competitors an advantage in building the new features into their OS as there is plenty of time for them to do it (Alpha stage).

I believe the later leaks (without the device ID #s) are official leaks from trusted source which goals are not about adding/removing features but to fix bugs. This would be close to release (Beta stage) and if leaked, wouldn't do much harm as it will be out soon anyways (before competitors can implement it).

Given how secret Apple and Google is about their OS updates, why would you think BlackBerry would operate differently? Do you want them to lose whatever advantage they have?

[sixpacker]

The relevant part of the communication is this:

"This is why I want to make you aware that, right now, we are pursuing legal action against a party who stole confidential information about a future BlackBerry product and made that information public. This person falsely posed as an employee of one of our carrier partners to obtain access to secured networks.

I recognize that, in some cases, the leaks reflect people’s genuine interest in BlackBerry. There are a lot of people whose enthusiasm for our company and our products makes them want to know what we will do next — and that can be a tremendous asset for us as a brand.

But, when curiosity turns to criminality, we must take strong action."

He's not going to tolerate people posing as a carrier partner to obtain confidential info.

He said he would go after internal as well as external leakers, so it's not as limited as you suggest.