According to CNA, the Indian government is now proposing that device manufacturers share source code as part of security measures it plans to introduce. That said, what should you know about it?
An improved measure to combat scams, online fraud and data leaks
For your information, the 83 new security standards that will be introduced will also require the government to be notified of any software updates it plans to make. The new standard was introduced by the Indian government as an effort to improve user data security to combat online fraud and data leaks in India.
Moreover, the request to access the source code has raised concerns among manufacturers as it could expose the security systems used on the devices. Among other demands that have drawn criticism is the requirement to keep digital logs of device usage for 12 months.
Additionally, industry players say that if logs were to be kept, the storage on users' devices would be taken up by the large amount of log data, making this requirement impractical. The government also wants to see and test every security patch that manufacturers want to provide before it reaches the public's devices. This is seen as unhelpful in situations where important security patches need to be provided immediately.
This is the second time the Indian government has sought to issue a directive that is seen as violating user privacy. Last year, the Communications Ministry sought to make the Sanchar Saathi (Communications Partner) app mandatory as an initiative to combat online fraud, illegal device sales, and prevent device theft. It was withdrawn after receiving negative feedback that it was seen as a government app spying on users' activities.
Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more updates.
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