ONGOING TUG OF WAR OVER GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS
Apple, South Korea’s Samsung, Google, China’s Xiaomi and MAIT, the Indian industry group that represents the firms, did not respond to requests for comment.
Indian government requirements have irked technology firms before. Last month it revoked an order mandating a state-run cyber safety app on phones amid concerns over surveillance. But the government brushed aside lobbying last year and required rigorous testing for security cameras over fears of Chinese spying.
Xiaomi and Samsung – whose phones use Google’s Android operating system – hold 19 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, of India‘s market share and Apple 5 per cent, Counterpoint Research estimates.
Among the most sensitive requirements in the new Indian Telecom Security Assurance Requirements is access to source code – the underlying programming instructions that make phones work. This would be analysed and possibly tested at designated Indian labs, the documents show.
The Indian proposals also require companies to make software changes to allow pre-installed apps to be uninstalled and to block apps from using cameras and microphones in the background to “avoid malicious usage”.
“Industry raised concerns that globally security requirement have not been mandated by any country,” said a December IT ministry document detailing meetings that officials held with Apple, Samsung, Google and Xiaomi.
The security standards, drafted in 2023, are in the spotlight now as the government is considering imposing them legally. IT ministry and tech executives are due to meet on Tuesday for more discussions, sources said.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/india-proposes-smartphone-makers-source-code-security-overhaul-5852106
