A day after a media report claimed that the government was planning to review major operating system updates under proposed new security rules, IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has denied the report. In a tweet, he called the report “just plain wrong.”
What was the report about
In a report, Reuters news agency claimed that the government plans to force smartphone manufacturers to allow the removal of pre-installed apps and require the verification of important operating system updates before they are made available to consumers.
“Under the new rules, smartphone makers must provide an uninstall option, and new models will be tested for compliance by a laboratory authorized by the Bureau of Indian Standards agency,” the report said, adding that the move was aimed at improving the data to ensure the user is not spied on.
The story is simply wrong, says the IT minister
Hours after the report surfaced, the union’s Minister of State for Electronics and Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, tweeted that the story was false and there were no “safety tests” or “crackdowns”.
“This story is just wrong – there are no ‘safety tests’ or ‘crackdown’ as the story suggests. The story may be based on a lack of understanding [an] unhindered creative imagination based on an ongoing consultation process [between] Ministry and Industry on Mobile Security Guidelines of BIS Standard IS17737 (Part-3) 2021,” the minister said.
For those who don’t know, the BIS Standard 17737 (Part 3) defines security levels, the security requirements, and the applicability of those security levels for mobile device security assessment, rating, and certification.
“@GoI_MeitY is 100% committed to Ease of Doing Business and fully focused on growing Electronics Mfg to reach $300B by 2026,” added Chandrasekhar.
IT Department, Industry working on guidelines: ICEA
Meanwhile, ICEA, the governing body of the wireless and electronics industry, said the IT ministry is working closely with the wireless industry to implement security policies in line with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Pankaj Mohindroo, Chair of ICEA, noted that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is working closely and in an intensive consultative mode with ICEA and the industry to implement mobile security policies according to the already released BIS standard IS17737 (Part-3). . 2021
“MeitY has been in active consultation with industry to introduce guidelines for device manufacturers to adopt this standard. The BIS must also develop the testing procedure and the required infrastructure of laboratories and the certification of those laboratories capable of testing the devices according to the BIS standard,” Mohindroo told IANS.
Industry and MeitY have agreed that “until the necessary laboratory infrastructure is in place to the satisfaction of the industry, there is ample time for compliance for device manufacturers/brand owners, so business operations should not be impacted in any way”.
