Research in Motion offered on Thursday to lead an industry forum to look at India's need to have "lawful access" to BlackBerry's encrypted

mail and messenger in the latest effort to stave off the blocking of the popular service in the world's fastest growing telecoms market. Executives of the Canadian firm have been meeting government officials in last-ditch negotiations aimed at finding a solution to India's desire to access the encrypted data that security agencies fear could be misused to launch attacks or create political instability. "RIM would lead an industry forum focused on supporting the lawful access needs of law enforcement agencies while preserving the legitimate information security needs of corporations and other organizations in India," the firm said in a statement. "RIM has assured the government of India of its continued support and respect for India's legal and national security requirements." RIM said singling out BlackBerry for blocking would be counter-productive for India, as it would limit the efficiency and productivity of local firms. Earlier, a senior government source said Home Secretary Gopal Pillai would be presented a report on the talks on Saturday, and on Monday would take a decision on RIM's fate.
India says it wants the means to track and read Blackberry's secure email and instant messaging services that officials fear could be misused by militants and anyone trying to create political instability. RIM says it was willing to lead an industry forum to look at India's security concerns as well as uphold the need of corporates for a secure system. "If they say we have a solution and ask for time, then we'll see," the Indian government source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said. "Everything is possible." Executives of the Canadian firm met government officials for last-ditch negotiations aimed at finding a solution. The government has said it will take a final decision on Monday. BlackBerry's troubles in India, which could cut it out from one of the world's fastest growing mobile phone markets, are the latest in the firm's global headaches as governments worry its encrypted services could be used for activities from terrorism to peddling pornography. Governments such as Saudi Arabia's fear it could become a tool to plan militant attacks or for those breaking Islamic laws. RIM uses powerful codes to scramble, or encrypt, email messages as they travel between a BlackBerry device and a computer known as a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) that is designed to secure those emails. RIM has said BlackBerry security is based on a system where the customers create their own key and the company neither has a master key nor any "back door" to allow RIM or any third party to gain access to crucial corporate data. India is one of a number of countries putting pressure on RIM, which has built the reputation of the BlackBerry, popular with business professionals and politicians, around confidentiality.

"We will only accept a solution which will enable us lawful interception of BlackBerry services in the interest of national security," an Indian government official close to the negotiations with RIM told Reuters. "The solution, if they come up with it, will have to go through field trials and satisfy our technical experts," he said. "The government's position does not change ... We are hopeful they will come up with some solution." RIM said singling out BlackBerry for blocking would be counter-productive for India, as it would limit the efficiency and productivity of local firms. A shutdown would affect about 1 million users in India out of a total 41 million BlackBerry users worldwide, allowing them to use the devices only for calls and Internet browsing. "I think these concerns have been addressed in other parts of the world. I see no reason why the Indian government and its agencies should take any risk at all as far as technology is concerned," junior telecoms minister Sachin Pilot said on Friday.
India has given the maker of the Blackberry smartphone until August 31 to address the its concerns over security or face having its services suspended. The authorities requested that Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian manufacturer of the Blackberry, provide them access to encrypted communications, saying that they could be used by armed groups carrying out attacks. The perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people, used mobile and satellite phones to co-ordinate the three-day rampage. "If a technical solution is not provided by August 31, 2010, the government will review the position and take steps to block" encrypted email and messenger services, the ministry of home affairs said in a statement on Thursday. The ministry also said that mobile phone operators would be obliged by law to shut these services if RIM failed to meet the demands. The announcement came few hours after the ministry of home affairs held talks with intelligence officials and state-run telecom operators BSNL and MTNL. Officials said RIM proposed tracking emails without sharing encryption details, but that was not enough. Meanwhile, RIM declined to comment on the deadline. Security concerns The Indian demands follow RIM's deal with Saudi Arabia, which allowed government access to its encrypted data. But while Saudi Arabia has only targeted the instant messaging service, India seeks access to both email and messenger. A shutdown would affect one million Blackberry users, who would only be able to use the phone for calls and internet browsing if it goes ahead. India is the world's fastest expanding cellular market and one of RIM's key growth areas.

This year, India restricted imports of Chinese telecoms network equipment over security fears. It is also worried about the introduction of 3G wireless services with no monitoring system in place. Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have threatened earlier to cut off Blackberry services unless they get greater access to user information, citing security concerns. India, Lebanon, Algeria and Indonesia have all raised similar national security concerns about their lack of access to Blackberry data. Unlike rivals Nokia and Apple, RIM operates its own network through secure services located in Canada and other countries, such as Britain. An estimated 2.8 million emails are now sent every second. Experts say governments will simply not be able to track the tidal wave of information flowing around the world.

India (AFP) India said Thursday it would cut off BlackBerry email and instant messaging unless the smartphone's Canadian makers allowed security forces access to the services by the end of the month. India's Ministry of Home Affairs told the country's mobile operators they would have to close down the corporate email and messenger services if Research in Motion, BlackBerry's Canadian makers, did not comply with its demands. "If a technical solution is not provided by August 31, 2010, the government will review the position and take steps to block" the email and messenger services, a home ministry statement said. New Delhi, battling insurgencies ranging from Kashmir in the northwest to the far-flung northeast, has raised fears that the heavily encrypted BlackBerry services could be used by militants. Islamic militants used mobile and satellite phones to coordinate the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. Telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, which offer BlackBerry services, have a responsibility under Indian law to ensure security agencies can access all services carried on their networks. The ministry noted services like BlackBerry Internet and voice calls had already been made available to security agencies for monitoring but said that did not go far enough. Responding Thursday to the Indian government's statement, RIM said it tried to be as cooperative as possible with governments "in the spirit of supporting legal and national security requirements." But it also wanted to preserve "the lawful needs of citizens and corporations," a company statement said.

"RIM maintains a consistent global standard for lawful access requirements that does not include special deals for specific countries," the statement said. Officials have complained the encrypted messaging system operated by RIM prevents them monitoring content. But RIM has said earlier it could not open up its technology to Indian authorities. It has also said that it did not possess a "master key" to gain "unauthorised access" to data transmitted on its devices and there is no "back door" in the system that would allow RIM or any third party to gain access. All corporate wireless message services have strong encryption, not just BlackBerry, it has said. However a senior RIM executive paid what a government official described as a "courtesy" call Thursday afternoon on Home Minister P. Chidambaram. Earlier in the day, India's home ministry and the intelligence agencies held a high-level meeting to discuss halting BlackBerry's services. A home ministry spokesman said the telecommunications department had been told "to convey to service providers and RIM that the BES (Blackberry Enterprise Service) and messenger services must be made accessible to legal enforcement agencies". The threatened ban comes as RIM is seeking to boost its market share in India, which is the world's fastest-expanding cellular market and has a million BlackBerry customers. If the ban is imposed, BlackBerry corporate or "enterprise" customers would only be able to use their handsets for phone calls and Web browsing. The Indian announcement came after Saudi Arabia postponed indefinitely on Tuesday imposing a BlackBerry ban as the ultra-conservative Muslim country reported progress in solving its security concerns. The United Arab Emirates has said it will ban BlackBerry messenger, email and web browsing services from October 11 for security reasons.