LONDON // The ringleaders of what have been called the BlackBerry riots were being hunted yesterday by the UK intelligence services' electronic eavesdroppers.
Experts at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), whose usual work is intercepting messages between Al Qaeda terrorists and monitoring other security threats, have been diverted to the disorder on Britain's streets because rioters are using social networking sites and, particularly, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) messages to organise looting.
Police have evidence that street gangs, anarchists and even organised crime syndicates have been using smartphone technology to coordinate looting and robbery.
David Lammy, MP for Tottenham in north London, where a fatal shooting by police last week was the catalyst for the crime wave, has even appealed for BBM services to be suspended in the capital.
Canadian firm Research in Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry, is now "engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can".
In response, a group or person identified only as Team Poison hacked RIM's blog and posted a message warning: "If you do assist the police by giving them chat logs, GPS locations, customer information and access to people's BlackBerry Messengers, you will regret it."
BBM messages are virtually untraceable and encrypted, which has led Scotland Yard to call on the expertise of the intelligence gatherers at GCHQ.
Mike Butcher, digital adviser to London Mayor Boris Johnson, has called BBM as "an encrypted, very secure, safe, fast, free, easy way for disaffected urban youth to spread messages for the next targets".
A widely circulated message in the wake of initial rioting in Tottenham on Saturday read: "Everyone in Edmonton, Enfield, Wood Green, everywhere in north, link up at Enfield Town Station at 4 o'clock sharp!!!"
The result was looting, arson and violence in all those areas. Rodney Barker, emeritus professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the use of modern communications had changed the nature of rioting, with those involved in the current troubles numbering in their hundreds rather than thousands.
"Some people clearly are being opportunistic but the numbers are really quite small and it appears there is a lot of communication between various of the groups," Prof Barker said yesterday. "You have groups who are highly technically integrated but, socially, completely outclassed and alienated."
BBM messages have not been the only communication tool used.
More than six people - the youngest 17, the oldest 22 - appeared in courts in England and Scotland yesterday accused of using Facebook to try to organise disturbances.
Police in Birmingham were ready for the trouble that broke out on Monday after being forewarned that Facebook, BBM and Twitter were urging youths to gather.
Twitter was also used to encourage violence in Tottenham. One of many Tweets urged: "Everyone up and roll to Tottenham [to] f*** the 5-0 [police]. I hope I dead tonight."
The Independent newspaper had the embarrassment of having to fire Jody McIntyre, one of its bloggers, after he instructed his 9,000 followers on Twitter: "Be inspired by the scenes in Tottenham and rise up in your neighbourhood.
100 people in every area - the way we can beat the feds." Stephen Kavanagh, second in command of London's police, has vowed to track down those using BBM and social networking to cause trouble.
The phones of arrested looters could offer prosecutors vital supporting evidence in court if they are found to contain messages referring to the organisation of riots. But some experts believe too much emphasis is being placed on the role of BBM and social media at the expense of searching for the underlying causes of the trouble.
Ian Maude, of Enders Analysis, a London telecommunications research company, told the Wall Street Journal: "They're not good or evil in themselves. It's the purposes for which people use them.
"At the moment they are being used by some looters, rioters and vandals to communicate. "But you could argue that should help law enforcement agencies keep track of what's going on."
dsapsted@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
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Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
