RIM says it did not give the Indian government access to BES corporate email

The Economic Times of India is reporting that it has heard from officials in the country's telecom department that RIM has given the Indian government access to BES corporate email. This has been denied by RIM.  But the problem with the story is that even if RIM wanted to, it cannot read the email that comes through the server because it is secure and encrypted. This is not the first time that RIM has had to issue a denial over the same story.

India is one of the few areas in the world where BlackBerry is still expanding its sales. RIM plans on aggressively expanding in the region despite this continuous battle with the government over encrypted emails. The Canadian based manufacturer has repeatedly told the Indian government that it does not have the encryption keys which remain in the hands of its corporate customers. Last January, RIM gave the Indian government access to its BlackBerry Messenger service and other consumer functions as the Indian government feared for its safety, worrying that encrypted messages could help its enemies plan an attack. At the time, RIM vowed that it would not allow monitoring of corporate email. David Patterson, head of RIM's government relations, said he is sure that the Indian government realizes how important encryption is to attracting foreign business and that the country wouldn't make requests that could damage foreign investment in the country.

The story, posted on the Economic Times of India website, cites telecom department officials and certain documents that have been reviewed, in saying that RIM had provided a solution to the Indian government to allow them to monitor business email.source: Reuters