Monitoring government surveillance of Blackberrys

IN Digital Media | 07/11/2010

Governments of several countries, including India, have threatened to block encrypted Blackberry services, if these are not made available to the governments or security agencies. In some instances, RIM has had to enter into data sharing agreements with them. In India, Blackberry services will be allowed until January 31, after which an agreement will be finalised with the government. But what exactly is the nature of these agreements and how do they impinge on the user’s right to privacy?

Citizen Lab, the well-known interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, Canada, has launched  Project RIM Check,  a research project designed to gather information on how traffic exits the BlackBerry network depending on the country in which the user is located.

Citizen Lab said that a major concern of these regimes is that BlackBerry data can be encrypted and routed through servers located outside of their jurisdictions. Unconfirmed reports have circulated that RIM has made data sharing agreements with India, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Other countries are also requesting the company locate data centres within their jurisdictions.

The findings from Project RIM Check will be published and made publicly available. Hosted on a website, the project is being conducted by the Information Warfare Monitor.

The website is maintained by the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. The Citizen Lab focuses on advanced research and development at the intersection of digital media, global security, and human rights. Its website states that it is:

 a "hothouse" that combines the disciplines of political science, sociology, computer science, engineering, and graphic design. Our mission is to undertake advanced research and engage in development that monitors, analyses, and impacts the exercise of political power in cyberspace.  We undertake this mission through collaborative partnerships with leading edge research centers, organizations, and individuals around the world, and through a pioneering "fusion" methodology that combines technical reconnaissance, field investigations, and data mining, analysis, and visualization.

The Citizen Lab’s ongoing research network includes the Information Warfare Monitor, the OpenNet Initiative, and Opennet.Asia.

Project RIM Check has been welcomed by the reputed journalists’ body, Reporters without Borders. In a statement, the organization said that it:

declares its support for this initiative, which is intended to generate information of interest to concerned BlackBerry users. Launched just as India has called off its threat to shut down BlackBerry services, this project is intended to establish "who has access to what" as a result of the concessions that RIM is believed to have made in response to demands from governments for more and more access to their citizens' instant messaging, emails, texts and other electronic communications.

India has reportedly reached a provisional agreement with RIM allowing it to intercept BlackBerry services. The deadline for reaching a definitive agreement is 31 January. So, for the time being, Blackberry services are not going to be suspended in India. But at what price?

This is what Project RIM Check is intended to answer. The initiative is able to monitor BlackBerry data traffic and shed light on the data's security. BlackBerry users are invited to go to the project's website (http://rimcheck.org/) in order to provide Citizen Lab's researchers with the details that will allow them to monitor traffic flow and identify the location of RIM's servers.

Citing the need to protect national security, various countries have of late been pressuring RIM to install servers within their territory in order to allow surveillance of BlackBerry communications. Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about these initiatives and the danger of facilitating government surveillance of dissidents. It has also asked RIM to be more transparent.