Blackberry content: Govt may engage foreign cos

The government may hire foreign firms to monitor content sent through Blackberry e-mail service after the technology licensor Research-In-Motion said it does not have any system to encrypt communication.

"RIM says they do not have any system by which the contents on Blackberry could be encrypted. Some other companies are coming forward to assist and we may seek their help," officials in the government said.

Blackberry enables subscribers to receive and send e-mails in the form of SMS through mobile phones. The service has come under official scanner, as communication sent using it is routed through servers located abroad and cannot be intercepted by security agencies in New Delhi. 

The officials did not name the company that has offered to help monitor Blackberry content, but sources said there are a few Swiss and Canadian companies who have developed software offering security technology for services like Blackberry.

Earlier, the DoT had said that it would be dealing only with the Indian mobile operators as they have been given licenses to offer mobile services and have nothing to do with the Blackberry vendor RIM.

On the other hand, mobile operators have passed the buck saying Blackberry issue is between RIM and the government and hoped that the issue would be resolved soon.

A Swiss company Utimaco had recently launched a new version of SafeGuard -- push mail security solution that enables encryption of all e-mails sent to and from Blackberry services.

Sources, however, did not confirm the name of the company.