Won't share encryption keys: Google to India
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 16 December 2010, 22:32 IST   |    10 Comments
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Won't share encryption keys: Google to India
Kolkata: Google has made it clear to the security agencies in India that it is not going to share the encryption key of its email service, asserted a Google executive. The internet giant said that sharing the keys would lead to compromising the privacy of Gmail users, reports Kalyan Parba of The Economic Times. Vinay Goel, Products Chief, Google India shared that it will not be possible for Google to offer real time access to the Gmail server even if the Indian government requested. The reason cited for this is that the Gmail service is governed by the U.S. laws . He added, "When users entrust their data with us, we are expected to protect it, which is why, user privacy is very important for Google." However, Goel made it known that the the Union Home ministry or the Telecom ministry have not made any such request to Google so far. Citing possibility of sharing the data only in exceptional times, Goel said, "But we are not advocating non-compliance and are definitely open to offering the Indian government access to encrypted Gmail communication in the event of a large-scale risk to human life and property." The news comes after the Indian government came down heavily on BlackBerry makers Research-In-Motion (RIM) in the recent past on the issue of intercepting its corporate messages. The deadline fixed for RIM to share their encryption keys is January 31, 2011. Meanwhile Nokia has gone ahead and announced the installation of its server in India.

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