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Our Bureau

New Delhi, June 25 Rejecting any temporary solution to the BlackBerry controversy, Indian security agencies have told the Government that it must make sure that traffic originating and terminating on the device should not travel outside the country without proper monitoring.

This comes even as the Department of Telecom was considering deploying certain software that would allow the security agencies to snoop into BlackBerry’s network without having to break into the service codes.

BlackBerry handsets are designed by Canadian firm Research In Motion and uses high encryption codes, making it impossible for Indian agencies to monitor data being transmitted by users.

While RIM has refused to either give the decryption codes or set up a local server, DoT was looking at e-mail monitoring solutions as alternative. One such solution involves pushing a software into the user’s BlackBerry through SMS, which then replicates all data originating or received on the device.

However, the security agencies have pointed out that there are legal issues associated with impregnating a device with interception software. They have also raised quality issues whereby the intercepted BlackBerry user would get disrupted services in case of heavy usage, which could alert the user of snooping by security agencies.

DoT has been told by the agencies that operators should be asked to provide monitoring systems in line with the requirements specified in the telecom licence. Objections by security agencies have put the onus back on RIM to find a solution.

DoT officials said that they were hopeful of finding a solution without having to stop RIM from selling Blackberry devices in India.

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