Decision on BlackBerry next week: Indian official

Thursday, 26 August 2010, 07:16 IST
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New Delhi: A top official in India's interior ministry Wednesday said the final decision will be taken early next week on allowing two of BlackBerry services to continue in the country beyond the Aug 31 deadline set for accessing encrypted data. The official also indicated that some headway had already been made in this area, with officials of Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian firm that has developed the popular smart phones, offering access to one of the two services under the scanner. "We are already accessing Blackberry Messenger Services now. RIM officials will meet us on Thursday and Friday to take the process further. We hope to take a final decision on this by early next week," the official told IANS. "They (RIM officials) also told us they will provide some sort of a technical solution to access BlackBerry Enterprise Services. So we will then evaluate all these things, see if it satisfies our security concerns and take a decision accordingly." The remarks came against the backdrop of India fixing Aug 31 as the deadline for telecom operators to give access to decoded data sent via BlackBerry devices to law enforcement and security agencies, just as they have access to SMS messages and phone calls. The deadline was primarily set for two BlackBerry's offerings -- the enterprise service, used mainly by corporates to connect their mail system with the device, and messenger for instant data communications. "If a technical solution is not provided by Aug 31, 2010, the government will review the position and take steps to block these two services from the network," said an official statement issued earlier this month. Research in Motion has shipped over 100 million such devices till date, with 46 million users through 550 telecom carriers in 175 countries. The company doesn't share country-specific data but estimates suggest around one million users of the service in India. According to the company, more than 25 million of the total 46 million users worldwide use the BlackBerry Messenger. The company claims that this service is so popular that its use has shot up nearly 500 percent this year. Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot had also pointed out last week that the same provision mandated for internet and telecom service providers as required by security agencies, was invoked for accessing data sent from Blackberry services. "It is mandatory for the telecom service providers to install lawful interception and monitoring system before launch of telecom services," Pilot said in a written reply in parliament, adding for internet service providers, it is installed at their nodes. "However, security agencies are not able to obtain the interception in readable formats where complex encryption is used in communication," the minister said, alluding to the coding system used for BlackBerry's enterprise and messenger services. "The Department of Telecom has asked the telecom service providers to provide technical solution for interception and monitoring of certain services provided through BlackBerry devices in readable format to law enforcement agencies," he said. "In case no solution is provided, these services may be banned by the government."
Source: IANS
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