The government is continuing its efforts to ensure that the company?s telecommunication networks are secure.
As per reports, a Parliamentary panel has said that over 500 illegal telecom networks are currently operating in various states.
According to the panel, these networks are present in 16 states, with 120 cases in Andhra Pradesh, 100 in Tamil Nadu, 61 in Delhi, 54 in Maharashtra and 31 in Kerala.
To combat the same, the panel has suggested that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) examine the issue be in detail and conduct a thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, Indian security agencies have already asked DoT to request operators to provide the details of subscribers accessing the internet via their mobile handsets.
Thereafter, DoT had asked Vodafone India and Idea Cellular to provide the same. Now, the agencies have asked DoT to make it mandatory for operators to use indigenously manufactured SIM cards.
Currently, all operators use SIM cards manufactured by overseas companies, such as Schulmberger, Gemalto and Oberthur. This is largely owing to the current duty structure, which leans towards imported goods.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Home Affairs is reportedly of the opinion that imported SIM cards poses a security threat, as security agencies and operators cannot monitor them once issued to a user.
According to the security agencies, once the encryption keys of any SIM card are compromised, it can be used to trigger various attacks including denial of service, disclosure of location of subscriber, diverting and routing calls.
