India’s government is the latest in a long list of national governments that
have recently threatened to shut down BlackBerry services over security issues. The United
Arab Emirates has said it will halt Blackberry Messenger, e-mail, and Web
browsing starting October 11. Indonesia and Saudi Arabia also threatened to
block BlackBerry Messenger service. Saudi Arabia reached a deal with RIM over
the weekend, and a ban that was to go into effect starting Monday was
lifted.


Meanwhile, countries in Europe, such as Germany, are also putting pressure on
RIM to loosen its security enough so that communications can be monitored. The
German government has urged staffers not to use the BlackBerry, and several
ministries have banned them, Reuters reported. And last week, the European
Commission rejected the BlackBerry as a handset for its employees, opting
instead for Apple’s iPhone and HTC smartphones.


India’s decision followed a meeting that Home Secretary G.K. Pillai had with
officials from India’s Department of Telecommunications as well as other federal
security agencies, according to Reuters.


Governments say the BlackBerry’s tight security is a concern as they try to
combat terrorist attacks and other illegal activities. India, for instance, is
trying to keep a lid on fighting by insurgents in Kashmir as well as potential
threats from Pakistani militants.


alt="Security Manual - Sarbanes-Oxley" vspace=3 align=right
src="http://www.it-toolkits.com/images/Security.gif" width=85
longDesc="Security Manual Template - Sarbanes-Oxley" height=110>Of RIM’s 46
million users worldwide, about 1.1 million are in India. India is among the
fastest-growing markets for the BlackBerry. This is an important factor given
that the North American market, RIM’s stronghold, is becoming saturated. RIM and
other phone makers need to look to developing countries, such as India and
nations in the Middle East, for growth.


If RIM is unable to satisfy India’s security demands, the services that would
be shut down are the BlackBerry e-mail service and instant messaging.

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