The RCMP had decryption key to BlackBerry Messenger Service since 2010

Canadian police have been in possession of a BlackBerry master encryption key since 2010, according to a pair of blockbuster reports today from Vice News and its sister site Motherboard.

Mounties allegedly had access between 2010 and 2012 and the Canadian government spent almost two years fighting to keep this information secret. It is unclear how the force was unable to acquire the key, and it is not known if Mounties can still read messages on a BlackBerry smarthpone.

What’s even more disconcerting is that it’s unknown where the key is now. It could still be in RCMP’s possession, which doesn’t impact corporate or government accounts as those have their own decryption keys, but might mean that the country’s police had easy access to private users’ phones while they were none the wiser.

As noted in a technical report inspected by Vice, the RCMP referred to BlackBerry’s global encryption key as one that “would unlock the doors of all the houses of the people who use the provider’s services, and that, without their knowledge.”

The BlackBerry revelation comes at a critical time in the encryption debate. Apple and the FBI’s well-publicized spat over accessing data on a terrorist’s iPhone is, for the most part, wrapped up, though we will likely see similar disputes between the two continue to arise.

Whether BlackBerry gave its code to the government or not, it only further elevates the importance of questions about the extent of government power and how far companies are expected – or required – to assist in accessing devices with software that could put innocent parties at risk. These are questions not likely to be resolved any time soon.

Agencies/Canadajournal