After RIM, Google & Skype under Indian Govt's Scanner

The Indian government is asking Google and Skype to allow access to their data, after RIM got a 60-day extension to fulfill the government's demand to open encrypted Blackberry services for law enforcement agencies' scrutiny.

During the government's early demands with RIM's Blackberry service, it had hinted the inquiry's scope could be widened to include Google and Skype and other online voice and data service providers to toe the line.

According to a TOI report, the Indian government wants to monitor Google and Skype's data service operations in India, and will ask them to setup local servers on Indian shores. Whether the government's request is limited to access Google and Skype's VOIP (voice over internet telephony) service only isn't clear right now.

Google and Skype both have voice and data communication services -- Google Talk and Skype Messenger, respectively. And since RIM was asked to allow monitoring of its Blackberry messaging and enterprise mail services, it won't be surprising if the Indian government demands access to Google and Skype's instant messaging service along with its VOIP operations. Apparently, VPNs or Virtual Private Networks are also under the government's scrutiny.

The Indian government is treating service providers' (RIM's Blackberry, for instance) data encryption techniques as a security loophole in its quest to crackdown on terrorists using such telecom or data service to coordinate attacks on the nation. On August 30, RIM agreed to the government's demand and earned a 60-day reprieve to facilitate security agencies lawful access to its encrypted data.