India Extends Time for RIM to Develop Strategy for Government Security Access

Last week, TMC (News - Alert) reportedBlackBerry maker Research in Motion said it’s prepared to set up an industry forum to “resolve security concerns with India threatening to disrupt its operations in the fast-growing market,” according to Agence France-Presse.


An Associated Press (News - Alert) report issued today reveals India withdrew a threat it had issued earlier to ban BlackBerry (News - Alert) services. The nation has given RIM at least two more months to provide security agencies greater access to corporate e-mail and instant messaging. 

The main point in the dispute between RIM and India is that the country’s leaders want greater access to encrypted corporate e-mails and instant messaging. While it is still unclear as to what RIM has done to gain an extension, the company has made certain proposals that would allow lawful access.

RIM has shown great reluctant to agree to the demands out of New Delhi – understandably so – as this is not just a privacy issue, but one the company claims is technically impossible to provide. 

The company’s biggest competitor, Nokia, installed a server in the country in order to allow government monitoring. It is suspected that this move weakened RIM’s bargaining position. And, while corporations love RIM’s strong data encryption; some Middle East and Asian governments worry it will be used by militants hoping to avoid detection.

A Reuters (News - Alert) report also followed the situation, which includes the Indian government and the telecom ministry working together to conduct a feasibility study on running services through a server located within India. 

While Nokia (News - Alert) has certainly shaken things up a bit, RIM still maintains a large percentage of the global market and India is intent on maintaining its position as one of the world’s fastest growing information-technology nations. A ban on the BlackBerry could jeopardize this status, while also limiting the efficiency and productivity of local firms.

The technical challenge for RIM is that it uses powerful codes to scramble e-mail messages as they travel between the BlackBerry device and a computer. The security is based on a system where customers create their own key and the company does not have a master key or any “back door” that would allow them – or any third party – to gain access to corporate data. 

If RIM and India cannot reach an agreement and a shut-down occurs, 1 million users in India and a total of 41 million BlackBerry users worldwide would be affected. Apple
and Nokia could be the biggest winners in such a situation and RIM isn’t likely to allow that to happen.

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Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi