BlackBerry averts ban, gets 2-month breather

The Home Ministry on Monday gave reprieve to Canada's Research in Motion (RIM) on providing premium BlackBerry tools but decided 'in principle' to bring in other Internet-based services like Google, Skype, virtual private network under the scrutiny of the intelligence agencies. "Any communication through the telecom networks should be accessible to the law enforcement agencies and all telecom service providers, including third parties, have to comply with this," the ministry said in its statement.

One option being considered is that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) study the feasibility of "all such services" being provided through a server located only in India so that their traffic passes through it. The DoT has to submit the report within 60 days following which the ministry "will review the situation". The server would provide the government the ability to access all traffic which flows through it on a real-time basis, said sources. Currently, some of these services have servers located outside the country.

According to sources, the ministry gave a breather to RIM even though the Canadian firm had failed to provide "a complete solution" — especially decryption of business enterprise server (BES). "They have provided solution to the extent that is in their control. They have expressed their inability to provide a patch for any encryption by third party," they said.

The ministry, after a meeting held by Home Secretary G K Pillai with security agencies and DoT, decided to try out the solutions for BlackBerry Messenger and BES with the option to flex its muscle on organisations that opt for BES to allow lawful interception.

The test run of solutions claimed by RIM would be put up for technical validation on Tuesday, said sources. "The feasibility of the solutions offered would be assessed thereafter," said the ministry statement.

This is the second major instance of RIM managing to get a breather with Saudi Arabia letting off RIM after the latter agreed to provide a solution. The issue of providing readable content of interceptions then became a sore point between the Home Ministry and RIM with the latter adamant that it did not have any such solution and did not provide a key to do so anywhere in the world. The ministry got tough and on August 12, gave a deadline of August 31 to RIM to either provide lawful interception on real time basis for the BM and BES or face ban on these. Subsequently, the DoT informed all operators that unless informed otherwise, these services be blocked from September 1.

The government, sources said, was reasonably sure that RIM was making its services accessible to the US government.

In case of China, sources said that the Chinese had managed to ensure access to the BlackBerry services by manufacturing the BlackBerry handsets on their own and equipping them with hardware and software that could make the data available to their security agencies.