Press Association

RIM 'must reveal Blackberry data'

The manufacturer of BlackBerry should give law enforcement agencies around the world access to its customer data, the UN telecommunications chief said.

International Telecommunication Union secretary general Hamadoun Toure added that governments have legitimate security concerns and that officials fighting terrorism had the right to demand access to users' information from the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry - Research in Motion (RIM).

"Those are genuine requests," he said. "There is a need for cooperation between governments and the private sector on security issues."

RIM is embroiled in parallel disputes with at least five countries - India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates - over concerns the smart phone's powerful encryption technology could be used as a cover for terrorism or criminal activity.

Civil right activists have argued the controversy is fuelled by authoritarian governments' frustration over their inability to eavesdrop on BlackBerry users.

Blackberry service is designed from the ground up for secure communications. RIM says it complies with all legal requests for data, such as phone logs, and even it is unable to provide anyone with the text of e-mails sent by people using its corporate service.

European and US governments have largely made their peace with encryption technology, but officials in Asia and the Middle East have demanded that RIM modify its practices to allow them wholesale access to BlackBerry emails as they are being transmitted.

On Thursday, Indian officials widened their security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications, not just RIM, to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That could potentially draw companies such as Skype and Google into the row.

RIM has effectively thrown up its hands, saying the way the BlackBerry system is designed prevents anyone except its clients from decrypting communications. The impasse has sent the company's share price plummeting.