DoT has asked telcos to audit their networks for security lapses, says Centre in Rajya Sabha

The telecom ministry has asked all telcos to carry out a network security audit, minister of state for communications Sanjay Dhotre said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Under telecom licence rules, all licensees must get their network audited once every financial year from a security point of view by a network audit and certification agency.

“Further, the Department of Telecommunications on 06.12.2019 has directed the telecom service providers, i.e. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, Reliance Jio India Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd to carry out special security audit of their network by an external agency,” Dhotre said in answer to a lawmaker’s query.

The development come close on the heels of the government banning 224 Chinese mobile applications and barring state-run telcos from sourcing gear from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE for national security reasons, amid escalating tension at the order with China.

The government, which has amended the General Financial Rules 2017 to make it more difficult for companies from countries sharing land borders with India from securing state contracts, is also believed to have nudged private telcos to gradually reduce dependence on Chinese vendors. But there is no official communication on barring Chinese companies from India.

In reply to another query, the minister said there is no order on banning purchase of telecom gears from Chinese companies.

“Department of telecommunications has not issued any order in this regard. However, Rule 144 of the General Financial Rules 2017, titled 'Fundamental principles of public buying', has been amended by inserting sub-rule (xi) by the department of expenditure,” Dhotre said.

Among Indian telcos, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have multi-party vendorships, while Jio does not use equipment from Chinese vendors. State-run BSNL has 44.4% of its mobile network equipment from ZTE and 9% from Huawei, while 10% of MTNL’s mobile network equipment is from Chinese manufacturers.

Dhotre said the government is aware of the report of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the US government, titled ‘Investigative report on US national security issues posed by Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei & ZTE’ as well as US Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) recent orders designating Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation, along with their parent companies and their affiliates, as companies posing a security threat to the US.

“It is a known fact that in the modern age, telecom equipment and networks used for provisioning of telecom services are prone to spyware/malwares etc., emanating from the equipment itself or embedded software contained in it or from antisocial or antinational individuals or agencies,” the minister said.

The government, a day earlier, had informed parliament that there is no proposal to exclude the Chinese vendors from 5G contracts, which essentially means that firms like Huawei and ZTE are still in the race along with the likes of Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia for bringing in 5G infrastructure.