Government may hire foreign firms to monitor BlackBerry content

Mumbai: The government is likely to hire foreign firms to monitor content sent through Blackberry e-mail service after its vendor Research In Motion (RIM) said it does not have any system to encrypt communication.

"RIM says they do not have any system by which the contents on Blackberry could be encrypted. Some other companies are coming forward to assist and we may seek their help," officials sources said.

Subscribers can use Blackberry to receive and send e-mails in the form of SMS through mobile phones. The service has come under security scanner, as communication sent using it is routed through servers located abroad and cannot be intercepted by agencies here.

Without naming the companies, officials said a few Swiss and Canadian companies which have developed software offering security technology for services like Blackberry have offered to encrypt the communications.

A Swiss company Utimaco had recently launched a new version of safeguard -- push mail security solution that enables encryption of all e-mails sent to and from Blackberry services.

The government, meanwhile, has asked telecom service providers like Bharti Airtel, Reliance and Vodafone not to provide certain services of BlackBerry until monitoring systems are in place, minister of state for telecoms Jyotiraditya Scindia said.

The government is in talks with BackBerry vendor Research In Motion (RIM)  and the four telecoms operators which provide the services in India after security agencies have raised concerns the phone's usage posed a risk as e-mails sent using it could not be traced or intercepted.

"Instructions have been issued to all mobile service providers, inter alia, asking them not to connect or provide/run certain BlackBerry services unless the required monitoring systems are in place," the minister said in a written reply.

The department of telecom, however, said the RIM has sought time till this week-end to address issues raised by it relating to lawful interception of content sent through Blackberry device.

Cellular Operators Association of India director general TV Ramachandran declined to say if services would be disrupted on account of the government's directive. "We will abide by whatever the government requires. We have no issue," he said.