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“The Blackberry Research in Motion Issue”

Theme: Organized Crime, State and governance

Sub-themes: Media and Crime

Prepared By:

Parth Patel

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Sr. No. Title Pg. No.

1. Introduction 3

2. Encryption 5

3. The Issue between RIM and the Indian Government 7

4. Government‟s Stand on Security Policy 9

5. Global Scenario 10

6. How are the services misused? 11

7. How the violation of Govt. security policy can affect you? 12

8. Issue Solved? 15

9. Conclusion 16

10. References 17

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Introduction

What is Blackberry Smartphone?

Blackberry phones are manufactured by a Canadian company Research in Motion and they are

well-known for their e-mail managing systems and for private messenger i.e. The Blackberry

Messenger. They were largely used by the businessmen and nowadays they have become popular

among the youths.

Brief on RIM

Research In Motion Limited is a Canadian transnational telecommunications company having its

headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. RIM was founded in the year 1984 by Mike

Lazardis. It is also known as a leader in creating wireless systems globally and its new era began

from the year 1999 when it manufactured Blackberry mobile phones. RIM is at its best in

creating a perfect stage for broadcasting, internet services and web browsing, short message

service, etc. It was initiated by Mike Lazaridis, who at present functions as the vice chairman of

RIM's Board of Directors and Chairman of the Board of Director‟s Innovation Committee. As

current affair knowledge, Thorsten Heins was appointed as a new President and Chief Executive

Officer at Research in Motion in January, 2012.

What is Blackberry Messenger?

Blackberry Messenger is a facility provided to the Blackberry users for instant messaging and

socializing with the other Blackberry users. One can say that it is pretty similar to the social

networking web sites. It was urbanized by the makers of Blackberry i.e. Research in Motion. The

mechanism is quite simple to understand. The messages which are sent through Blackberry

Messenger passes over the internet and a special Blackberry Messenger PIN is used, so that the

communication is recorded or made within this messenger and not with other users.

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The BBM service can be triggered only by activating the mobile phone internet or with the help

of Wireless LAN Connection or “Wi-Fi”. The information transmitted over these media is in an

encrypted format to avoid the eventual violation of privacy.

This service provides conveying of one single message to the group (broadcasting), group chats,

sharing of videos and photos, instant messaging service, etc. In short, this can be known as a

second form of social network.

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Encryption

1

The word Encryption is derived from the word Cryptography which simply means “Secret

writing”.

Encryption is the process of masking of actual data by converting it into a form which cannot be

understood by any unauthorized person. It is a transformation of the information using an

algorithm to make it messy for anyone except those who own the special key required for

decrypting the same. Encryption gives protection of data when in transfer, for example, data

transferred through mobile phones, Bluetooth devices, etc. It maintains confidentiality of

messages/data.

Encryption has been used since long time by the military and governments to exchange highly

sensitive/confidential information. There are various different algorithms developed for specific

applications of encryption.

Blackberry Encryption

The standard encryption is specially designed for encrypting the messages that the Blackberry

device sends or the Blackberry enterprise server forwards to a Blackberry device. When the

Blackberry device sends a message, it compresses it and the message gets encrypted with the

help of a master encryption key. On receiving the message, the Blackberry dispatcher decrypts

that message and decompresses it.

1 Jonathan Lim Yong Hian. [Artist]. (2007, Jan 20). Hacking for password. Retrieve 14

th March, 2012.

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Basically, Blackberry encryption is designed to safeguard the data and provide tough security

when that message data departs beyond the limits of organization‟s firewall. The Blackberry

enterprise solution uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) or TDEA (Triple Data Encryption

Algorithm) as a key algorithm for encrypting data.

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The Issue between RIM and the Indian Government

The Indian Government had warned RIM that it would block the „Blackberry to Blackberry

messenger (BBM)‟ service if it does not allow monitoring of the messages. The Indian

Government had to raise the security concern in the year 2008. But, Blackberry still continued its

service without abiding to the Indian security regulations. The encrypted data was sent directly to

the servers in Canada and that the Indian government had no access to it. So, the Indian

Government gave an ultimatum to RIM to shut down their services, if they are not granted access

to the emails and messages.

The RIM had vindicated that the message data and emails in their possession were encoded and

extremely guarded and so they cannot grant any access to India or any other country. The

Blackberry maker, RIM, justified its different services by saying that the security architecture for

its enterprise customers is based on a symmetric key system whereby the customers create their

own key and only they possess the copy of the encryption.2 3

Senior officials of security agencies argued that the continuation of the Blackberry services in

India pose a great threat. There has been a rise on security concerns over the use of Blackberry

by militants, as email messages sent cannot be traced or intercepted. The Indian government had

been putting weight on RIM to provide the security agencies with clarification over the

encrypted data. The Indian Government also proposed that RIM had two options: either they

install local servers so that security agencies can monitor them or share the data encryption key

used in Blackberry devices.

After a long debate, RIM proposed to share some details with the government, but the Indian

Government refused the proposal and instead demanded for full access to the details. After many

meetings with the government officials, the company had decided to share IP address of the

Blackberry Enterprise Servers (BES), PIN (Personal Identification Number) and IMEI

(International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers of the Blackberry mobiles. But the result

was same; the government wanted full access and not in pieces.

2 Nisar Abdul. (2010, Aug 12). National Security and Blackberry Services. Retrieve 16

th March, 2012.

3 Mohamed Iqbal. (2010, Aug). Blackberry security fears: What the issue is all about. Retrieve 18th March, 2012.

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The government gave a timeline to RIM, to provide a full access key which, if it failed to meet,

then telecom operators would have to pay the price and dismantle the services the security

agencies aren‟t able to control. The Indian government took nearly two years to gain total control

or access on the Blackberry server, to capture it and to decrypt the messenger and e-mails. The

government may not possess the power or the authority to instruct RIM, but it does have the

authority on the mobile phone companies operating in the country and so it had turned against

them and one of the chief officials also stated that those companies are bound by the Indian law

and further added that their license agreements permit the access to the security agencies to

check the data flowing.

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Government’s Stand on Security Policy

The government had hardened its stance against Blackberry for not providing solution to capture

mail services. The government also added that all the telecom operators will have to end any

such services which are against the law enforcement agencies. The government has firmly taken

a position by saying that their aim is to make sure that whatever passes through their network,

they must be able, if required, to capture and further added that if there is a usage of network as

per the licensing conditions, then there must also be a provision to intercept it. Those which the

government wants to intercept must in a readable format.

The government is firm in expecting RIM to provide the security agencies legal access to their

encrypted data. Union Home Secretary G. K. Pillai (2010) said that "People who operate

communication services in India should give server in India as well as make available access to

law enforcement agencies, whatever communications passes through telecommunication network

in India and that has been made clear to RIM of Blackberry but also to other companies."

The Home Ministry Officials also said that the other service providers like Google, Skype and

Virtual Private Network (VPN) must also follow the same directives. They have also been issued

notices to abide with the directive (access to their services) or else they would also have to close

down their servers in India. Before hunting for the access to Google and Skype, the data

travelling through wasn‟t open to security agencies in the country and taking an example of one

of the most audacious 26/11 attack, the terrorists did use the Skype services.

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Global Scenario

Many governments from different nations had also raised similar issues. Countries like UAE,

Indonesia, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Algeria had also got the access to the

servers. The UAE government (2010) commented that "Certain Blackberry applications allow

people to misuse the service, causing serious social, and judicial and national security

repercussions.”

The higher level of data encryption has become a boon for the Blackberry subscribers, but at the

same time it is also a serious potential security threat to many nations. As the encrypted data is

sent abroad, governments of various countries cannot monitor any illegal activity running on it as

it does not have access. Many European nations have given up using Blackberry smart phones

and instead picked Apple iphones and HTC Smart phones.

But USA uttered its displeasure over the ban on Blackberry phones by United Arab Emirates and

said that it would put an end to free flow of information. The US State Department Spokesman

PJ Crowley (2010) said that, “We are disappointed at the announcement. We are committed to

promoting the free flow of information. We think it's innovative. It's integral to an innovative

economy and we will be clarifying with the UAE their reasons for making this announcement.”

Crowley also said that there must be freedom of information and usage of technology would

support these governments. It was a rising alarm that terrorists did use Blackberry and Skype

services to coordinate the attack on Mumbai in 2008; due to this reason the government of UAE

and Saudi Arabia were firm with their decision to allow themselves access over the services and

set up a local server in their country too.

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How are the services misused?

„Misuse‟, in this issue, means „a national security threat‟. Every nation‟s government takes an

objection to protect its country even if it is beyond its power. Here are the three instances:

Blackberry phones had been found from militants in the past. Previously before the local

servers were planted in other nations, the data sent through the Blackberry devices among

these militants was in an encrypted form and so no security agencies of other nations was

able to decode it.

When the emails of the terrorist groups were seized in late 1990s, they had adopted a unique

tactic after that. A cluster of them generate a webmail address and agree on a same password.

Subsequently after typing the messages they didn‟t use to send to others but instead they use

to save it in „draft‟ folder, so by this no internet passage is generated and the other terrorists

sign in to same address and verify the 'drafts' folder for messages.

Usage of steganographic techniques4, which allow hiding encrypted messages in video, audio

or images that can be swap in open forum chat rooms or on social networking web sites like

Twitter, Facebook or Orkut.

In the above case, there is a data transfer between two or more servers but the data used will

be in a coded form which takes maximum time or is next to impossible to decode. As the

servers were located in Canada, it was beyond the jurisdiction of the Indian Government‟s

Regulations to investigate any criminal or unlawful activity happening over the BBM

servers. Due to this reason, the chances for misuse arise because there isn‟t any government

involvement from any of the countries.

4 Steganographic Technique means a script or a secret language which is not readable by a layman. It’s always in a

coded form.

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How the violation of Govt. security policy can affect you

Respecting and protecting the client‟s privacy in business is very vital. But there certainly is a

debate between security and privacy. Security is one of the needs or you can say which is next to

the basic necessities, while privacy can be considered as an incentive that people get from the

laws enacted. Today, what people don‟t understand is that when they give up their privacy, they

become less secure. Either way round, the most essential need is security because when you feel

secured, you also feel that your right to privacy is not infringed. The Indian government claimed

that it had no plans to spy and would seek access to Blackberry data only under certain

circumstances and not occupy general public‟s privacy. Sachin Pilot, the Junior

Communications Minister (2010) said that "We do not want to be obstructionists. We do not

want to eavesdrop on private and business conversations of our citizens or corporate, but we

cannot compromise on our security."

How it affects the Government: The violation can lead to the breach of National Security

as well as the breach to the security agency regulations. India‟s security agencies were the first to

use cyber forensics to track the e-mail messages of LTTE and Lashkar-e-Toiba. Later on, the

LeT attacks were solved when Hotmail and Yahoo had provided access and monitoring to the

country.

Worsening violence in Kashmir, Mumbai attacks, Maoists insurgency can be sparkled by the fact

that these attacks were frequently coordinated through mobile phones and internet calls. The

encrypted data would have made it more difficult for India to defend herself from the constant

threats of Naxalites, Maoists and Rebellious terrorist groups.

As a point of national security, fear over encrypted communication is critical in the country.

Pakistani-based militants used mobile and satellite phones in the 2008 attacks that killed 166

people in Mumbai. The militants were suspected of using Internet telephony.5 6

5 Majumdar Bappa. (2010, Aug 13). Blackberry assures India on access to services. Retrieve 17

th March, 2012.

6 Majumdar Bappa. (2010, Aug 13). Blackberry assures India on access to services. The Globe and Mail. Retrieve

18th March, 2012.

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Wherever and whenever there is ground for fear of national security, the government of that

country is bound to get its lawful interference.

How it affects Citizens: Everyone has a different view on the same question i.e. Security or

Privacy? Privacy certainly is a more of a concern to an individual than security. Every citizen has

a Right to Privacy, but what would they choose when it comes to the extreme level of danger to

the nation: Security or their own Privacy?

The Indian government already told that they aren‟t interested in going through the private

messages of the citizens but they are concerned with national security. The data which is

transmitted abroad from Blackberry users might not be protected, and even if it was safe, then

also there must be a lot of strain floating over the Indian government. The messages, e-mails, etc.

which were sent to the servers in Canada before installing local servers in India might have

become subject matter to the individual‟s privacy. Even in the Blackberry Messenger there are

many facilities like photo sharing, video calls, etc. which raise a question of a citizen‟s privacy.

After all these data exchanges are stored at the main servers in Canada. There can be concerns

regarding hacking of data as initially the servers were located in only one country.

The next point can be the personal interest of an individual. In India there are many Blackberry

patrons who wouldn‟t like its services being discontinued in the country. Everyone has a

particular interest in things which they want to acquire or hold. If there was a ban, then the

Blackberry lovers‟ personal interest would also be breached which is also a loss of personal

interest.

This issue can also be known as a social issue which has a deep impact on the personal interest

as well as the privacy of an individual.

How it affects the RIM itself: RIM has got over 1 million users in India, 7 lakh users in

Saudi Arabia, 5 lakh users in United Arab Emirates and over 70 million users worldwide. Guess

what if there was a ban on the Blackberry smart phones in India and the other countries?

Perhaps, that day would be a judgment day for RIM as it would be judged by these countries on

the matters of security.

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Indeed, RIM has achieved its status for making Blackberry phones and penetrating into the

corporate world. Voice and Data, a leading telecom publication in India published their findings

from the 2011 survey on Mobile phone Industry7. The Indian Mobile handset industry has been

rising progressively and posting strong statistics. The handset market moved up by 15%

contributing total revenue of Rs. 33,171 crores8 in the year 2010-11. The total revenue for 2009-

10 fiscal was Rs. 28,897 crores9. By taking a ground on the total sales and data identified, the

crowned 5 players in the Indian mobile phone background out of which RIM (Blackberry) stands

on 4th

position with 5.9% market share and Rs. 1,210 crores10

as revenue earned in the year 2010

and Rs. 1,950 crores11

in the year 2011. This data clearly states that there has been a sharp

increase of 62% in the revenue of RIM. Though there is an increase in the revenue, Blackberry is

also facing tough competition against Nokia, Samsung and Micromax.

RIM has earned a lot of status and profit in India. Both of which certainly would have become a

dream if a ban was laid on it. All the revenue they had generated would have been just a „flash of

vision‟ if they weren‟t allowed to expand their business in India. They would have lost their

market value and prestige. This data is only from Indian perspective, but what about the revenues

generated from the other countries? It is also detailed that there was a total of 112% growth of

RIM from 2010-2011 in the UAE.

There would have been a severe loss if the RIM didn‟t accept the demands of these countries of

setting up local servers. The other mobile phone companies like Nokia, HTC, Samsung, etc.

would have been earning more revenue in absence of Blackberry smart phones. So, as a matter of

fact, RIM itself would have been severely affected by this issue.

7 Bharani. (2011, June 28). Indian Mobile Phone Industry- An Outlook. Retrieve 17th March, 2012. 8 Indian mobile handset market grows 15% in FY 2011 (2011, June 27). Voice & Data. Retrieve 19

th March, 2012.

9 Indian mobile handset market grows 15% in FY 2011 (2011, June 27). Voice & Data. Retrieve 19

th March, 2012.

10 Indian mobile handset market grows 15% in FY 2011 (2011, June 27). Voice & Data. Retrieve 19

th March, 2012.

11 Indian mobile handset market grows 15% in FY 2011 (2011, June 27). Voice & Data. Retrieve 19th March, 2012.

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Issue Solved?

RIM faced a deadline on August 31, 2010 to give the access of Blackberry servers to the Indian

authorities. India is known as one of the fastest developing Information-Technology nations. So,

a ban on the Blackberry would also jeopardize its (RIM‟s) prestige. RIM has also lost much

revenue, owing to a great decrease in sales in North America because of its competitors, who

dragged RIM to gaze at countries like India and Saudi Arabia.

RIM had no other option but to set up its network in these countries, as the Indian government

had also given a warning to the Department of Telecom (DoT) not to take up RIM‟s network and

to be abiding strictly by its rules. RIM had to install its servers in almost 6-7 countries as they

had also raised the same issue India dealt with.

A lot of pressure was hovering on RIM in the previous years (2008-2010). Highly prestigious

competitors, threat to be banned in few countries and also certain network and internet problems

which was its latest issue in the year 2011.

Every citizen must undergo a need to put across their ideas and views in such situations, not only

the Blackberry users (in this case) but it apply to all. Hence, whatever the Indian government did,

it was for the security as well as the privacy of each and every citizen of India.

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Conclusion:

Our age is an age of technological transformation, where almost every work is done with the

help of machinery and tools. „Technology‟ is an invention which has made everyone‟s life a

more of a peace. It is obvious that whichever the thing has a good side; it will have a bad side

too, as it is a rule of nature. Bad side in this invention- it directly puts a step on security. As per

this issue, we would like to support the step of the Indian Government which said that security is

more essential than privacy. It is straight forward that when your area is secured then you don‟t

have to worry about your secrecy.

If a person is surrounded by the group of bad people, there will be no security, so how could that

person maintain his privacy if he is not secured from that group? Indian government did the right

thing by considering the national security more important than the individual privacy.

Hence, our suggestion would be the support of the Indian Government giving a higher priority to

national security issue than individual privacy.

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References:

1. Nisar Abdul. (2010, Aug 12). National Security and Blackberry Services. Retrieved 16th

March, 2012, from <http://news.oneindia.in/feature/2010/national-security-and-

Blackberry-services.html>

2. Majumdar Bappa. (2010, Aug 13). Blackberry assures India on access to services.

Retrieved 17th

March, 2012, from <http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/13/us-

Blackberry-idUSTRE67151F20100813>

3. Indian mobile handset market grows 15% in FY 2011 (2011, June 27). Voice & Data.

Retrieved 19th

March, 2012 from

<http://voicendata.ciol.com/content/news1/111062706.asp>

4. Jonathan Lim Yong Hian. [Artist]. (2007, Jan 20). Hacking for password. Retrieved 14th

March, 2012 from Google Images.

5. Mohamed Iqbal. (2010, Aug). Blackberry security fears: What the issue is all about.

Retrieved 18th

March, 2012 from <http://just.zimaa.com/2010/08/blackberry-security-

fears-what-issue-is.html>

6. Majumdar Bappa. (2010, Aug 13). Blackberry assures India on access to services. The

Globe and Mail. Retrieved 17th March, 2012 from

<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/blackberry-assures-india-on-

access/article1671648/print/>

7. Bharani. (2011, June 28). Indian Mobile Phone Industry- An Outlook. Retrieved 17th

March, 2012 from

<http://www.91mobiles.com/blog/7564/Indian+Mobile+Phone+Industry+2011++ndash+

+An+outlook.html>