The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans to widen the list of products to be tested before being used in telecom networks. According to DoT, when an IT product is used in a telecom network, it should be treated as a telecom network element and not as an IT product and therefore all IT products need to be screened locally as well alongside traditional network gear before deployment in India.
The government is working on a policy framework to treat such IT products as ?telecom network elements? to enforce a DoT mandate that requires all telecom service providers to get all network elements security certified by an accredited test lab in India, from July 1, 2014.
Further, going forward, DoT is likely to push for mandatory local screening of IT products deployed in telecom networks even if such devices have been certified by an international test lab within the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) pool. CCRA is the global agency that defines common processes to only certify IT devices used in critical infrastructure networks like power, defence, aviation and telecommunications.
DoT?s proposal comes at a time when India has been conferred authorising member nation status in the CCRA, which means the government can now issue clearances to companies to set up CCRA-accredited private test labs in the country to test and certify telecom equipment prior to being deployed in telecom networks.
