RIM changes course, promises to keep Indian Blackberry network secure

Filed under: Cellphones

Although several Indian news outlets reported last week that RIM was preparing to let the Indian government monitor the domestic Blackberry network, it appears that the outcry has prompted the company to change course and announce that it's committed to "serving security-conscious businesses in the Indian market." That's a big reversal from the rumored plan, which would have allowed Indian security agencies access to the network in exchange for taking the blame for any leak of user data. Of course, not everything's quite settled yet: the Indian government is still demanding that RIM furnish "satisfactory answers" to its security questions, and RIM told the AFP that there are some other ways for "government to take care of security concerns" without elaborating further. Based on RIM's enterprise-heavy statements and refusal to comment on the consumer service, we'd guess that enterprise customers will probably get to keep their networks locked down, but that consumers shouldn't expect their messages to be secure. Not the best compromise, but we'll see how this all plays out.

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