The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked smartphone companies in India to preinstall a state-developed cybersecurity application that allows users to report fraudulent calls and messages, and stolen mobile phones, The Indian Express has learnt. Users should not be able to delete the application, the Department has told smartphone companies.
It has insisted that all new devices sold by the manufacturers come pre-installed with the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ application, and a software update to be issued to phones that have already been sold with the application made available with it.
Smartphone makers have been given three months to adhere to the directive, which industry executives said companies are expected to push back on. It will impact manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, among others. Queries sent to the DoT, and the smartphone makers did not elicit a response until publication.
A senior government official said that the directive is part of a broader strategy to “strengthen cybersecurity and anti-spam measures”, which also includes a recent directive by the DoT to online communications platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to implement SIM binding – which means that these platforms will not be able to run without the SIM card with which a user had first registered for the service present in the device.
The Sanchar Saathi application is currently available to be downloaded from both Apple’s and Google’s app stores, but users have a choice on whether they want to install it on their devices. If the smartphone companies were to stick to the government’s directive, the app would come preinstalled in a new device, or be made available with a software update on devices which have already been sold.
The app was launched in January this year, and till August, has crossed 50 lakh downloads. A press release by the government in September said that over 37.28 lakh stolen, or lost mobile devices were successfully blocked using the app, and more than 22.76 lakh devices had been traced.
The Sanchar Saathi app allows tracking and blocking of lost or stolen phones anywhere in India, based on the IMEI of the phones. The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a unique 15-digit code that helps phone companies know which phone is which, helping mobile networks to identify and authenticate devices. The app can also assist police authorities in tracing stolen or lost devices, which can potentially prevent counterfeit phones from entering the black market. The app also allows users to report suspected fraud communications via calls, SMS, or platforms like WhatsApp.
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Last week, the DoT issued a directive to companies like WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram, under which users will no longer be able to access the applications without the SIM card with which they registered for the services on their phones. The directive will also mean that the companion web services, such as WhatsApp Web, will not be available uninterrupted to users, as they will be automatically logged out every six hours.
Right now, services like WhatsApp verify a user’s identity by sending a one-time password (OTP) to their mobile number. But, to follow the DoT’s directive, they will have to start accessing the IMSI of their SIM cards. IMSI stands for International Mobile Subscriber Identity, and is a unique number that identifies every mobile subscriber globally. It is stored on the SIM card.
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