Photo credit: telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com
Reports indicate that the Indian government has directed smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a state-owned cybersecurity app on all new devices as part of efforts to combat online scams and other cybercrimes.
The November 28 order – the existence of which was reported by Reuters news agency and Indian media on Monday, three days after it was privately sent to manufacturers – gives the companies 90 days to ensure that the app, Sanchar Saathi or “communication companion”, is pre-installed on new mobile phones, with a requirement that users cannot disable it, News.Az reports.
The directive of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) also requires phone companies to push a software update for installing the app on devices already in circulation, the reports said.
The app, which was released in January, is currently available for download, with India’s 1.2 billion smartphone users having the option to install it.
The government says the app is essential to combat “serious endangerment” of cybersecurity from duplicate or spoofed International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers – the code assigned to each device that is used to cut off network access for phones that are reported stolen.
According to government figures, users have downloaded the app more than five million times since its launch, helping to block more than 3.7 million stolen or lost mobile phones and blocking more than 30 million fraudulent connections, Reuters reported.
In that time, the app has helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones, according to the figures.
News.Az
















