BlackBerry services in the country are in violation of the Internet Service Providers (ISP) guidelines regarding encryption of data. According to the guidelines, a licencee has to seek prior permission of the government if the level of encryption is higher than 40-bit key length.

In case of BlakBerry the level of encryption is much higher and very complex. The government has not given permission to any operator to start services without setting up server, the government informed the Parliament on Monday.

Clause 13.(vii) of the guidelines say: “…. Individuals/Groups/Organizations are permitted to use encryption upto 40 bit key length in the symmetric key algorithms or its equivalent in other algorithms without having to obtain permission from the Licensor. However, if encryption equipments higher than this limit are to be deployed, individuals/groups/organizations shall do so with the prior written permission of the Licensor and deposit the decryption key, split into two parts, with the Licensor.”

At present, nine operators are providing BlackBerry services. They include government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL).

Telecom service providers provide services under Unified Access Service Licences (UASL), which permits them to offer data and Internet services such as e-mails. They have to follow ISP guidelines on encryption.

Security agencies are unable to intercept and monitor BlackBerry services because of complex encryption communication and non availability of BlackBerry servers in India.