The Department of Telecom on Friday warned telecom service providers of strict action if they fail to appoint the nodal officers required under the National Security Directive on Telecom for reliable telecom portals.
The directive mandates the telecom service providers to install the equipment only from a reliable source approved by the competent authority.
The DoT said it has issued instructions on March 30, 2021 and June 16, 2021, and a reminder on December 13, 2021.
The notice states that all the telecom licensees are still not registered on the trusted telecom portal.
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“Therefore, the licensees who have not submitted an authorization letter for appointment of a nodal officer for the trusted telecom portal are requested to submit the same to the designated authority i.e. National Cyber Security Coordinator by June 15, failing which Action will be taken against those licensees,” the notice said.
In order to strengthen the security of communication networks, the Cabinet Committee on Security on December 16, 2020 approved the National Security Directive on the Telecom Sector, which mandates service providers to purchase equipment from trusted sources.
Under the provisions of this Directive, the Government declares a list of reliable sources and reliable products for installation in the country’s telecom network. All work related to instruction is done through trusted telecom portal.
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The credible source and product list is decided based on the approval of a committee headed by the Deputy National Security Adviser.
However, the Directive does not affect annual maintenance contracts or updates to existing equipment that has already joined the network before the Directive took effect.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.