{"id":43636,"date":"2025-10-27T07:38:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T02:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=43636"},"modified":"2025-10-29T14:46:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T09:16:33","slug":"govt-notifies-telecommunication-cybersecurity-rules-under-telecom-act-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/govt-notifies-telecommunication-cybersecurity-rules-under-telecom-act-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Govt. Notifies Telecommunication Cybersecurity Rules Under Telecom Act, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in the News?<\/li>\n<li>About Telecommunications Act, 2023<\/li>\n<li>Telecommunication Cybersecurity Rules Under Telecom Act, 2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in the News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has published four sets of draft rules under the Indian Telecommunications Act, 2023. One of these includes Cybersecurity Rules.<\/li>\n<li>These rules mandate specific measures for telecom entities and outline clear obligations to enhance cybersecurity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>About Telecommunications Act, 2023<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Earlier, the Indian Telecommunications sector was governed by three separate Acts of Parliament:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Indian Telegraph Act 1885<\/strong>,<\/li>\n<li><strong>Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933<\/strong>,<\/li>\n<li><strong>Telegraph Wires, (Unlawful Protection) Act 1950<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Telecommunications Act, 2023 was brought in to consolidate these three separate Acts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Aim<\/strong>: To amend the existing laws governing the provision, development, expansion and operation of telecommunication services, telecom networks and infrastructure, in addition to assignment of spectrum.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Telecommunication Cybersecurity Rules Under Telecom Act, 2023<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Data Collection and Analysis:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The government or authorized agencies can request telecom companies for <strong>traffic data<\/strong> or other data for cybersecurity purposes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Message data<\/strong> (e.g., text, audio, video) is excluded from the scope of government requests.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Traffic data<\/strong> includes information generated, transmitted, received, or stored in telecommunication networks, such as type, routing, duration, and timing.<\/li>\n<li>Telecom companies must establish infrastructure to collect traffic data and provide it to the government at designated points for analysis, processing, and sharing with authorized entities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cybersecurity Compliance and Reporting:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cybersecurity Policy<\/strong>: Telecom companies must adopt and report on a cybersecurity policy that includes:\n<ul>\n<li>Security safeguards and risk management practices.<\/li>\n<li>Procedures for network testing and incident response systems.<\/li>\n<li>Forensic analysis measures for cybersecurity incidents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Security Audits<\/strong>: Companies must conduct periodic cybersecurity audits through government-certified agencies.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Security Operations Centre (SOC)<\/strong>: Telecom companies must establish SOCs to monitor and handle cybersecurity incidents.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Incident Reporting<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Initial reporting of <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/cyber-security\/\" target=\"_blank\">cybersecurity<\/a> incidents within <strong>6 hours<\/strong> of awareness.<\/li>\n<li>Detailed reports (e.g., number of users affected, geographic impact, remedial actions) within <strong>24 hours<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compliance Portal<\/strong>: Companies must furnish cybersecurity compliance reports on a government portal or through secure communication channels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Security Incident Response:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The government may direct telecom companies to:\n<ul>\n<li>Prevent or remedy cybersecurity incidents within a specified time frame.<\/li>\n<li>Disconnect telecom identifiers linked to threat actors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Companies must appoint a <strong>Chief Telecommunication Security Officer (CTSO)<\/strong> to coordinate incident response and compliance<\/li>\n<li>The government can disclose incident details to the public or require telecom companies to do so.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Equipment Security Regulations:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Telecom equipment with an <strong>IMEI number<\/strong> must be registered with the government.<\/li>\n<li>It is prohibited to:\n<ul>\n<li>Alter or remove telecommunication equipment identifiers.<\/li>\n<li>Use devices with tampered identifiers to produce traffic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The government may block equipment with tampered IMEI numbers or direct manufacturers to assist in addressing such issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Digital Implementation:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A government portal will facilitate the digital implementation of these rules.<\/li>\n<li>Secure communication mechanisms may be used for issuing orders, collecting information, or reporting compliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key Provisions Unchanged from the Original Draft Rules:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The government can take action against threat actors by disconnecting identifiers.<\/li>\n<li>Directions may be issued to telecom companies to prevent or address security incidents.<\/li>\n<li>Tampering with equipment identifiers remains strictly prohibited.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This structured format ensures clarity in understanding the roles and responsibilities of telecom companies and the government&#8217;s authority under the Telecommunication Cybersecurity Rules.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1. How big is the telecommunication industry in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Telecom industry in India is the second largest in the world with a subscriber base of 1.179 Bn as of August 2023 (wireless + wireline subscribers).<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2. How do satellite phones work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A satellite phone has an omnidirectional or directional antenna that is used for both transmitting and receiving signals. In order to receive a signal for service, most satellite phones require a line-of-sight with the sky.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/india-news\/govt-notifies-telecom-cyber-security-rules-sets-reporting-timelines-124112200760_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Govt notifies telecom cyber security rules, sets reporting timelines<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/govt-notifies-telecom-cyber-security-rules-sets-timelines-for-telcos-to-report-security-incidents\/article68898229.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Hindu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DoT has published four sets of draft rules under the Indian Telecommunications Act, 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43636","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}