RIM has assured Indian authorities it will meet the August 31 deadline set for it to provide access to encrypted messages run over BlackBerry servers.

 

The device maker has already offered details of how India’s security forces can monitor its e-mail and instant messenger services during meetings with government officials late July, and is confident of hitting the latest deadline to work out a technical solution with Indian carriers, WSJ.com reports.

 

It has also pledged to help the government crack other chat services running on its handsets, the news site said.

 

India’s government issued its ultimatum late last week, giving RIM just three weeks to work out a solution with carriers that would allow security forces to monitor BlackBerry e-mail and instant messages.

 

The move heaped further pressure onto RIM, which is facing potential bans on its devices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Germany and Lebanon due to fears its closed system could be exploited by terrorists and cyber criminals.

 

However, any solution must reassure corporate users that their business e-mails are safe, Informa analyst Matthew Reed says.

 

“Any compromise that RIM makes on the security of corporate data in order to remain in these key emerging markets in Asia and Middle East, it increases its risk of alienating its key corporate customers.”

 

Emerging markets have become key to RIM’s survival, as it loses market share in its core North American market.

 

Overseas subscribers outnumbered domestic users for the first time in February, Yahoo reports, and Google’s Android operating system knocked RIM off the top spot in the US smartphone market during 2Q, according to NPD Group.