RIM: BlackBerry outage wasn't a hack, has no known end date
updated 05:45 pm EDT, Wed October 12, 2011
RIM gives little clue as to outage cause
RIM during an emergency conference call to discuss its rapidly worsening BlackBerry outage provided only some extra detail as to the nature of the issue. Along with acknowledging the messaging backlog, software CTO David Yach said there was no sign of a hack causing the problem. He was adamant that the company had been properly testing its backups and that the failure caught it by surprise.
The executive couldn't promise a definite end time for the problem. RIM was working "around the clock" to solve it, he said, but he couldn't say when. Part of the challenge was the company's attempt to send all the backlogged messages. RIM has so far ruled out purging the old messages to start fresh, Yach said.
A more exact cause beyond the "core switch" failure would come once service was back up.
RIM's outage, which is now worldwide and nearing four days, is considered one of the most ill-timed in recent memory. It arrived just as Apple was rolling out iOS 5 with a BlackBerry Messenger competitor, iMessage, and two days before the iPhone 4S reached several countries. The firm was also trying to overcome the stigma of having an unpopular platform in the US through its much improved BlackBerry 7 line despite sharp drops in shipments, mostly led by unsold stock of older phones.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2010
I feel sorry for them
"He was adamant that the company had been properly testing its backups and that the failure caught it by surprise." Does he realize that he is contradicting himself in the same sentence?
It would be funny if it was not so sad. I used to like my bb, years ago.