India can inspect BlackBerry emails sans encryption codes:Report

Latest reports indicate that there is now a way for India to monitor BlackBerry’s corporate emails without getting the developer Research in Motion (RIM) to hand over encryption codes. The Indian government fears that riding on BlackBerry’s unmonitored email and messaging services, the nation’s security could be compromised. The government had been asking the company to allow it to monitor BlackBerry email communication but the request was not granted. RIM claims that it is not possible for it to handover the encryption codes to the government, for those are not in their possession.

Report claims India can inspect BlackBerry mails sans encryption codes

RIM had stated that the system is so secure that RIM itself did not have the encryption codes. However, R. Chandrashekhar, the most senior civil servant in India’s telecommunications ministry was quoted by Dow Jones as saying that the government is now of the opinion that it can monitor BlackBerry emails without decrypting them. He added nothing further. 

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

Recently there were reports about RIM rubbishing claims that they had granted the Indian government the encryption keys to its secure corporate email and messaging services. The company had reiterated that it cannot provide access to its enterprise email and messaging services as the company itself does not possess the encryption keys; those remain in the control of its corporate clients.

A lot has been going on between RIM and the Indian government over issues of security. Talks between the two continue to alter between agreement and otherwise. At a point, DoT threated RIM with a ban, if it did not comply, and later called it undesirable if RIM complies.

Late last year, there were reports about RIM’s corporate clients agreeing to share (decode) the emails of those employees who were suspected of mischief-making. However, the same report stated that the government had kept mum about the duration of time clients of RIM’s corporate email services would have to part with transcripted mails. At the time, it was stated that RIM does not have to share any encryption keys with the government to maintain transparency and security. 

News Sources