RIM, DoT asked to resolve concerns by Aug 31

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The government has asked BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to resolve the security concerns over the mobile device by August 31.

The Home Ministry may stop the BlackBerry Messenger services and Blackberry Enterprise Service(BES)  if RIM does not offer any solution, which also include providing India the encryption code to access the messages sent via BlackBerry Messenger, said an official.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a deadline of August 31 for BlackBerry and the DoT to resolve all security-related issues and comply with Indian law,” said the official.

Earlier an official had told CIOL that India's decision on Blackberry will be taken in a month's time.

The Home Ministry gave this directive following an inconclusive meeting with the officials of the Department of Telecommunications, Intelligence Bureau and BSNL. A RIM official had also visited the Home Minister today amid speculations that India may temporarily ban some BlackBerry services.

Meanwhile, a source in the DoT said that the Department will convene a meeting of the telecom operators to take a final call on the BlackBerry security issue after receiving a written communication from the Home Ministry.

“We will act after receiving the written communication from the Home Ministry. We expect the letter by today evening or tomorrow,” the official said on conditions of anonymity.

“We just have to implement what the Home Ministry is saying; whether it is ban or some solutions, we will do it according to the Home Ministry directive, in the meeting with the operators,” he added.

He said if the operators find it difficult to ban the email and messenger service only, the option is to ban the entire BlackBerry services in the country.

The official also added that the government is doing so to ensure a fool-proof security during the Common Wealth Games.

Today, MHA conducted a meeting under the Union Home Secretary G.K.Pillai with representatives of Central Security Agencies and Telecom Department. Representatives from MTNL and BSNL were also present in this meet. The meeting asked the Telecom Department to convey to service providers that two Blackberry services namely, Blackberry Enterprise Service(BES) and Blackberry Messenger Service(BMS) be made accessible to Law Enforcement Agencies by 31st August, 2010. If a technical solution is not provided by 31st August, 2010, the Government will review the position and take steps to block these two services from the network.

The meeting also took note of the fact that the Blackberry services like Voice, SMS and BIS have been made available to Law Enforcement Agencies.