Cyber Security Concerns Excluded Huawei From Australian Broadband Project

Chinese telecom companies like Huawei and ZTE are facing growing concerns of cyber security. Many nations have shown their concerns regarding possible attack upon their critical infrastructures that are dependent upon telecom infrastructure if they use telecom equipments of these Chinese companies.

A common cause of concern is the possibility of existence of embedded malware and backdoor in the Chinese telecom equipments. While Chinese telecom equipments makers are trying their level best to convince the governments of various nations about the safety of their equipments yet the Chinese telecom equipment makers are increasingly being excluded from national contracts.

In India, although we have no applicable telecom equipments security framework of India yet Indian government has shown great concerns regarding telecom security. Indian government has also announced that telecom equipments must be certified by TEC in India before use. This is the reason why telecom equipment providers like Huawei and ZTE were trapped in telecom security tangle of India.

ZTE has also been facing allegations of providing e-surveillance equipments to Iran. Now it has been reported that Huawei has been blocked from bidding on Australia’s $37.5 billion national broadband (NBN) project. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard cited cyber security concerns for taking such an action.

NBN plans to cater around 93 percent of Australian demand for Internet connections by 2017. Obviously, with such large percentage of connectivity, this broadband infrastructure would be the backbone of Australia's Internet infrastructure. So Australia took a very cautious step by excluding the telecom equipments of Huawei.

Huawei has maintained a positive attitude in this situation and it is expecting a future partnership with Australia in this regard. At the same time, Huawei is also working hard to remain open and transparent so that its credibility remains unblemished.

Meanwhile, there is an urgent need to formulate a new national telecom network security policy of India. In fact, a national telecom network security coordination board (NTNCCB) of India has already been suggested to be constituted in India. Some significant provisions in this regard have also been suggested by the national telecom policy of India 2012. However, by and large, the telecom security infrastructure and telecom policy of India are still defective and insufficient.

National Telecom Policy 2012 Of India

The national telecom policy of India 2012 is in pipeline. It is in continuation of its precursor i.e. the national telecom policy of India 2011. It has incorporated many far reaching reforms that if accepted can really streamline the telecom sector of India.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has done a good job by combining the suggestions and recommendations of various stakeholders. In fact, the proposed national telecom policy 2012 of India is an improvement over the policy suggested in 2011.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) provided its techno legal public inputs in this regard and many of them have been endorsed by TRAI. TRAI has also accepted many suggestions of Perry4Law on telecom policy of India.

Some of the suggestions of Perry4Law and PTLB that have been accepted by TRAI pertain to issues like establishing servers in India, establishing cloud computing legal framework in India, establishment of telecom security in India, reconciling privacy rights and law enforcement requirements, reconciling privacy rights and national security requirements, adoption of lawful interception methods, telecom dispute resolution reforms in India, crisis management and emergency response services, delivery of e-services in a time bound manner, digitisation of governmental records, establishing cloud computing best practices in India, encryption and privacy issues of cloud computing, establishing a centralised monitoring system in India, etc.

However, these are very broad and important aspects that require suitable modification of the constitution and powers of TRAI so that TRAI can fulfill the commitments and policies that have been suggested in the 2012 policy.

Fortunately, the Telecom Commission has agreed to grant to TRAI the powers to penalise the defaulters. If finally approved by the appropriate authority, TRAI will be able to summon companies and individuals, call for evidence and even seek expert advice while conducting an enquiry, in order to ensure that telecom companies comply with rules, especially those concerning phone users in the country.

This is a much needed power that should be conferred upon TRAI so that it can perform its functions and duties more efficiently. Perry4Law and PTLB welcome this move and wishes TRAI all the best in this regard and hope that TRAI would emerge as a super regulator in the field it is managing.

Telecom Equipments Must Be Certified By TEC In India Before Use

Till now the telecom equipments imports norms of India are not clear. This is the main reason that has been preventing a timely deployment of imported telecom hardware in India. India has been waiting for long for a certification system for its imported telecom gears and equipments.

Now it has been made clear by India that all telecoms equipments must be mandatorily mandatory certification by the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) before deployment in communication networks across India.

However, without a proper legal framework and appropriate telecom policy, this step would not be fruitful. This may be the reason why department of telecommunication (DoT) is planning to amend the Indian Telegraph Rules to include detailed modalities for such mandatory testing and certification.

The onus will be on any original equipment maker (OEM) in the telecoms space to get its products certified before selling them in India. Testing shall be carried out by the Telegraph Authority or any other designated agency on payment of a prescribed fee. A suitable test certificate will be issued to the OEM if it complies with all parameters of testing and certification.

An internal department panel which is drafting the detailed norms for mandatory testing of telecoms gear is slated to submit its recommendations to the Telecom Commission by June 15. The seven-member panel largely comprises senior officials of the TEC, which is the department's technical wing.

The Telegraph Authority will also have the powers to issue show cause notices to telcos using uncertified gear and OEMs selling such equipment. Under the amended Indian Telegraph Rules, it will also have powers to confiscate telecom equipment that hasn't been tested or certified. In the event, an errant OEM fails to complete certification formalities even 180 days after being issued a show cause notice, the designated authority may confiscate such uncertified telecom equipment.

This would eliminate the fears of intelligence agencies of India that have been raising concerns for long for embedded malware in imported telecom hardware. However, nothing is better than a telecom security policy of India that is still missing.