The long time dispute between the Indian government and BlackBerry over monitoring, tracking and interception of services including mails and peripherals, chats and browsing history on BlackBerry devices seems to have been resolved. According a report by Times of India, encrypted content on BB services will soon be monitored on a real time basis by the government of India. The access to the content will be open to the extent that the government agencies will now also be able to check BBM chat’s delivery or reception status. Moreover, these agencies will be able to intercept web-browsing facilities on these devices. However, this will not include access to the BB’s corporate email service provided through BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
ToI has reported to have got their hands on an internal document from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stating that, ‘Baring a few minor points for improvement of viewers, the lawful interception system for BlackBerry Services is ready for use.’
Reportedly, a BlackBerry spokesperson has confirmed that, they have delivered a solution that enabled India’s operator service providers to address their lawful access requirements for its consumer messaging services including BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) email. Moreover, DoT’s note also mentions that nine out of ten telecom service providers providing BlackBerry services were in the process of deploying the interception solution.
Operator-wise, BSNL, MTNL and the Sistema Shyam Teleservices in India have still not put a lawful interception system in place. It is believed that MTNL will do so by July and BSNL by September. However, there has been no communication by SSTL over the.
Government first tested the interception facilities for services and, will soon ink an agreement with BlackBerry to acquire their server set-up in Mumbai. This apart, according to this agreement between the government and BlackBerry, the company will have to train up to five government officials at its Ontario facility. This training will including handling of the technical architecture, along with operation and maintenance of the monitoring facility.
The government’s intervention in the BlackBerry services is not new, as it was only due to the governmental pressure that the company had set up servers and other interception facilities in Mumbai in 2011.
