SMS vs BBM

[Elie]

Just a quick question, which is more secure?
Can someone just call you carrier and request a log of SMS text messages sent from a certain period or are these things not logged?

How about BBM? Can I just call RIM and say give me a log of all my BBM messages? can they just give out that information?

[Dr Mordrid]

In the US you theoretically have to prove who you are to get such a list and if you aren't the account holder it takes a court order.

That doesn't mean much as far as husbands and wives go since in many/most states they are presumed to have a power of attorney unless you specifically exclude them. Also doesn't mean much if someone has your social security number, birth date etc., which is why identity theft is such a big deal - hardly any utilities, phone companies or online businesses have real offices anymore, save for AT&T, and do their customer service by phone. Hard to look at drivers licenses or in your eyes that way.

Some of the better secured businesses may also require you to set up a PIN or password, Virgin and Dish Network being two, but again it's not unusual for a spouse to know the ones you often use.

[Dr Mordrid]

Keeping message records are in some cases a matter of law so authorities can subpoena them if necessary. US and major foreign corporations keep such records, and backups of their business records, in secure data facilities, some of them headquartered in retired missile silos or certain types of mines. As such the plot in "Fight Club" wouldn't work - the company could restore their records in a very short order.

The term is "colocation" and the last I heard there are over 2,500 such facilities, most of them enormous. One such facility in New Mexico consists of 2 retired Atlas missile silos and their underground hardened work facilities and has over 1.2 million square feet of gear.

Kinda reminds me of the movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project".

[Elie]

Thanks guys.