RIM, Nokia asked to help monitor e-mail,
SMS traffic
SMS traffic
29-07-2010
Part of Government blitz against terrorists
India wants Research in Motion (RIM), makers of BlackBerry, to address its security concerns or face closure. What is sought is that RIM should set up a monitoring facility here with Indian access to its encryption technology, which is needed for security reasons, a fact recently flagged by security agencies.
This is the second time that the government has threatened to block the operations of BlackBerry. In the earlier instance, tensions were defused after RIM agreed to provide its encryption code to security agencies burdened with having to monitor the chatter among increasingly tech-savvy terrorists.
The fresh confrontation comes after reports that RIM was ready to set up a server in China to address Chinese security concerns.
The home ministry has asked the department of telecommunication (DoT) to check the veracity of reports of a server being set up in China and then press the Canadian company to do the same in India.
According to security agencies, this will help India monitor email and SMS traffic on these popular phones. In the current system, Indian agencies have to approach the Canadian company every time they want access, which is time-consuming and ultimately, it is felt, counter-productive.
In another case, Thuraya's refusal to share their codes with Indian security agencies encouraged terrorists in J&K as well as those behind the 26/11 attacks to exploit the chink.
A senior government official said, "Though RIM has been fully cooperating ever since the matter was taken up with it in 2008, reports of the company's move to set up a server in China forced us to look at it in a different way."
Officials here believe that if the Canadian company can take care of China's concerns by reportedly setting up a server there, it can do the same for India which is an equally big market for BlackBerry.
RIM's server is based in Canada where the encryption level is very high and extremely difficult to crack. Any message going through a Canadian server is encrypted and therefore cannot be accessed by intelligence agencies in India.
The latest development indicates that security agencies are again finding it difficult to intercept or decipher messages sent through these phones, which use codes with an encryption of 256 bits. This encryption code first scrambles the emails sent from a Blackberry device and unscrambles it when the message reaches its target.
RIM is facing a similar problem in the UAE where the authorities are asking for a similar access because their security legislation is incompatible with RIM's encryption techniques. Meanwhile, the Intelligence Bureau has also asked the telecom department to stop Nokia's popular messaging services in India until they can be monitored. The security agency has written to the DoT that it is against the continuation of the Finnish company's push email service for corporates and consumers that allows the easy management of multiple accounts
Nokia launched a beta version of the messaging service in April 2009. All leading cellular operators offer the service, which the company's advertisements claim allows consumers to use up to 10 email accounts on the move.
The service became an instant hit, with the company signing up more than 100,000 activations a month in India, vaulting it to the top five markets globally. Nearly 50% of Nokia's E Series smartphones sold in the country get activated for emails.
A Nokia India spokesperson said its messaging email service is still in the beta format in India, and that "the requisite infrastructure required by security agencies is being put in place".
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, which has a million customers, and Nokia collectively account for nearly all the corporate email consumers on mobile phones in the country.
Though the IB warnings cast a shadow over their services, it remains to be seen if the DoT acts. The department is yet to move against BlackBerry, Gmail and Skype.
Based on writeups in Economic Times
India wants Research in Motion (RIM), makers of BlackBerry, to address its security concerns or face closure. What is sought is that RIM should set up a monitoring facility here with Indian access to its encryption technology, which is needed for security reasons, a fact recently flagged by security agencies.
This is the second time that the government has threatened to block the operations of BlackBerry. In the earlier instance, tensions were defused after RIM agreed to provide its encryption code to security agencies burdened with having to monitor the chatter among increasingly tech-savvy terrorists.
The fresh confrontation comes after reports that RIM was ready to set up a server in China to address Chinese security concerns.
The home ministry has asked the department of telecommunication (DoT) to check the veracity of reports of a server being set up in China and then press the Canadian company to do the same in India.
According to security agencies, this will help India monitor email and SMS traffic on these popular phones. In the current system, Indian agencies have to approach the Canadian company every time they want access, which is time-consuming and ultimately, it is felt, counter-productive.
In another case, Thuraya's refusal to share their codes with Indian security agencies encouraged terrorists in J&K as well as those behind the 26/11 attacks to exploit the chink.
A senior government official said, "Though RIM has been fully cooperating ever since the matter was taken up with it in 2008, reports of the company's move to set up a server in China forced us to look at it in a different way."
Officials here believe that if the Canadian company can take care of China's concerns by reportedly setting up a server there, it can do the same for India which is an equally big market for BlackBerry.
RIM's server is based in Canada where the encryption level is very high and extremely difficult to crack. Any message going through a Canadian server is encrypted and therefore cannot be accessed by intelligence agencies in India.
The latest development indicates that security agencies are again finding it difficult to intercept or decipher messages sent through these phones, which use codes with an encryption of 256 bits. This encryption code first scrambles the emails sent from a Blackberry device and unscrambles it when the message reaches its target.
RIM is facing a similar problem in the UAE where the authorities are asking for a similar access because their security legislation is incompatible with RIM's encryption techniques. Meanwhile, the Intelligence Bureau has also asked the telecom department to stop Nokia's popular messaging services in India until they can be monitored. The security agency has written to the DoT that it is against the continuation of the Finnish company's push email service for corporates and consumers that allows the easy management of multiple accounts
Nokia launched a beta version of the messaging service in April 2009. All leading cellular operators offer the service, which the company's advertisements claim allows consumers to use up to 10 email accounts on the move.
The service became an instant hit, with the company signing up more than 100,000 activations a month in India, vaulting it to the top five markets globally. Nearly 50% of Nokia's E Series smartphones sold in the country get activated for emails.
A Nokia India spokesperson said its messaging email service is still in the beta format in India, and that "the requisite infrastructure required by security agencies is being put in place".
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, which has a million customers, and Nokia collectively account for nearly all the corporate email consumers on mobile phones in the country.
Though the IB warnings cast a shadow over their services, it remains to be seen if the DoT acts. The department is yet to move against BlackBerry, Gmail and Skype.
Based on writeups in Economic Times
