The government has asked all smartphone companies,
majority of them Chinese manufacturers, to outline the procedures and process:es
adopted by them to ensure security and privacy of users’ data.
The directive comes amid standoff
between India and China over Doklam, as also rising concerns over imports of
Chinese IT and telecom products.
“The ministry has given time till
August 28 to all companies to furnish their responses,” a senior IT Ministry
official said.
The official pointed to
international and domestic reports about data leaks from mobile phones and said
that in the first phase, devices and preloaded software and apps will be under
scrutiny.
Penalties
may follow
Based on the response of the
companies, the ministry will initiate verification and audit of devices where
required.
It has also warned of penalties
under provisions of IT Act 43 (A) in case stipulated processes are not being
followed.
The official said the objective of
the exercise is to ensure that required data security measures are being taken
with regard to hardware and software in mobile phones.
In all, the IT ministry has written
to 21 smartphones makers, the official said.
“Any device sold in the country
should be compliant with global security standards. If companies fail to
comply, further action will be taken,” said the official who did not wish to be
identified.
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had
called a meeting of senior officials in the department, and representatives of
Cert—In and others on August 14 to take stock of the situation, the official
added.
The official added that the issue
was critical given surge in e-commerce transactions and digital payments.
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