RIM Acts As Big Brother

Specifically, “all actions carried out on RIM’s internal network” are logged, which means emails, web browsing, and phone calls, all recorded for posterity. “I record everything,” said Bienfait, putting it bluntly.

Many office workers are accustomed to IT oversight of their computer habits — email is backed up for legal and data security purposes (though it’s rarely ever read) and many companies restrict employees from visiting certain websites — not just gambling/gaming/porn but also career and sometimes even “gossip” sites. But recording every phone call? Even for die-hard “employer rights” advocates, that’s a tough one to swallow.

Naturally Bienfait is concerned about leaks, as the company, like most of the current-era tech world, jealously guards the details about its upcoming product line. Should word get out about what RIM is working on, untold amounts of damage could be rained down on the company. Why, just imagine how many people would be knocking off the BlackBerry Storm and its mega-button design had they gotten wind of it in advance…

For the most part, employees seem to accept the Big Brother treatment, but things get dicey when employees have to deal with personal issues on work time — say, a divorce proceeding or medical conversations — things which they’d probably rather not have recorded permanently by Bienfait’s crew. Her advice: Bring in a cell phone and take the call there instead.

Just don’t do it on your corporate BlackBerry. Those are of course monitored too.