The ongoing dispute between the Indian government and RIM is… well, ongoing, and I get the feeling neither side will be happy with the inevitable compromises. This week the understandably sullen RIM mentioned in a statement what it has likely been telling Indian officials the whole time: Blackberries aren’t the only devices with encrypted data services. It suggested Google, Apple, Cisco, HP, and several other companies as examples of other companies with similarly protected services. Will pointing the finger make a difference? Probably not.
As the de facto default solution for enterprise mobile security, RIM is in more of a prickly situation than the others, who don’t make the same promises of security, and whose products aren’t aimed in the same direction. India wants a back door into secret international business relations; consumers come later, once a method is established and the carriers cowed. Blackberry is the hard case they need to crack first.
I do think it’s a bit silly, however, that the government there is worried about encryption fomenting dissent or allowing terrorists to organize. I think we’ve seen elsewhere in the world lately that people don’t need encryption to topple a government. So relax, India! If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen!
