RIM denies reaching BlackBerry deal with India

RIM has dismissed widespread reports that it has reached a deal with the Indian authorities to provide access to data being sent between BlackBerry devices.

A report in the Mint newspaper in India had claimed that RIM was on the verge of agreeing to provide access to information sent via BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES).

However, RIM said in a statement that the reports are "inaccurate and misleading" and based on "unsubstantiated claims from unnamed sources".

"Our customers can be reassured that the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution continues to be the gold standard for security-conscious organisations in India and worldwide," the company said.

"All our discussions with the government of India have been, and continue to be, productive and fully consistent with the four core principles we follow in addressing lawful access around the world. Any suggestion to the contrary is false."

RIM also stressed that BlackBerry Enterprise Server-based offering is the same in India as in any other country, and that even RIM cannot access the data.

"[There will be] no changes to the security architecture for BES customers since, contrary to any rumours, the security architecture is the same around the world and RIM truly has no ability to provide its customers' encryption keys," the firm said.

The statement also said that RIM is still in discussions with the Indian government, and that it expects the matter to be "satisfactorily resolved".

However, RIM has yet to say how it will resolve the issue, leaving BlackBerry customers in India waiting to see whether services are banned if RIM fails to address the issue before the deadline of 31 January.