RIM hires Canada PM’s ex-aide for damage control

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd has hired Mark Cameron, a former aide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to be director of global public policy amid growing government scrutiny of the smart phone maker's services.

Cameron, who was director of policy and research in the prime minister's office until 2008, began working for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company in January, according to his page on the professional-networking site LinkedIn. Marisa Conway, a RIM spokeswoman, confirmed the hiring.

Telecommunications regulators in several countries have threatened to shut down BlackBerry services over concerns its secure messaging could be used to foment social unrest or coordinate terrorist attacks.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates contemplated such steps last year.

Citing similar concerns, Indian authorities had set a deadline of 31 January for RIM to allow the country's security agencies to monitor BlackBerry service or face a possible shutdown. On 4 February, the authorities said they would give RIM more time to comply.

RIM, however, continues to maintain that there is no possibility of providing India access to corporate emails as its technological make-up did not allow it to provide keys to accounts of customers using such services.