RIM will not compromise BlackBerry security

Research In Motion (RIM) made a statement to let their customers to know how the data will be still secured. RIM will not compromise on possible ban of their services raised by United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week. RIM respects both the regulatory requirements of government and the security and privacy needs of corporations and consumers. They reminded everyone that no one, including RIM could access the BlackBerry encrypted data as it is encrypted without a master-key.

India raised similar security concerns last week and Bahrain in April warned against using BlackBerry Messenger to distribute local news.

It made no direct comment on any discussions between the governments of the UAE or Saudi Arabia over the use of encryption in BlackBerry products. It said such talks were confidential.

Some facts:

• RIM operates in over 175 countries today and provides a security architecture that is widely accepted by security conscious customers and governments around the world.
• Governments have a wide range of resources and methodologies to satisfy national security and law enforcement needs without compromising commercial security requirements.
• The use of strong encryption in wireless technology is not unique to the BlackBerry platform. Strong encryption is a mandatory requirement for all enterprise-class wireless email services.
• The use of strong encryption in information technology is not limited to the wireless industry. Strong encryption is used pervasively on the Internet to protect the confidentiality of personal and corporate information.
• Strong encryption is a fundamental requirement for a wide variety of technology products that enable businesses to operate and compete, both domestically and internationally.
• The BlackBerry security architecture was specifically designed to provide corporate customers with the ability to transmit information wirelessly while also providing them with the necessary confidence that no one, including RIM, could access their data.
• The BlackBerry security architecture for enterprise customers is based on a symmetric key system whereby the customer creates their own key and only the customer ever possesses a copy of their encryption key. RIM does not possess a “master key”, nor does any “back door” exist in the system that would allow RIM or any third party to gain unauthorized access to the key or corporate data.
• The BlackBerry security architecture for enterprise customers is purposefully designed to exclude the capability for RIM or any third party to read encrypted information under any circumstances. RIM would simply be unable to accommodate any request for a copy of a customer’s encryption key since at no time does RIM, or any wireless network operator, ever possess a copy of the key.
• The BlackBerry security architecture was also purposefully designed to perform as a global system independent of geography. The location of data centers and the customer’s choice of wireless network are irrelevant factors from a security perspective since end-to-end encryption is utilized and transmissions are no more decipherable or less secure based on the selection of a wireless network or the location of a data center. All data remains encrypted through all points of transfer between the customer’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the customer’s device (at no point in the transfer is data decrypted and re-encrypted).