BENGALURU: India’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonize Apple and privacy advocates.
In tackling a recent surge of cybercrime and hacking, India is joining authorities worldwide, most recently in Russia, to frame rules blocking the use of stolen phones for fraud or promoting state-backed government service apps.
Apple, which has previously locked horns with the telecoms regulator over development of a government anti-spam mobile app, is among the companies, such as Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi bound by the new order.
The November 28 order, seen by Reuters, gives major smartphone companies 90 days to ensure that the government’s Sanchar Saathi app is pre-installed on new mobile phones, with a provision that users cannot disable it.
For devices already in the supply chain, manufacturers should push the app to phones via software updates, the ministry said in its order, which was not made public and was sent privately to select companies.
A lawyer specializing in technology matters said India’s move was cause for concern, however.
“The government effectively removes user consent as a meaningful choice,” said Mishi Choudhary, who works on Internet advocacy issues.
Privacy advocates criticized a similar requirement by Russia in August for a state-backed messenger app called MAX to be pre-installed on phones.
One of the world’s largest telephone markets, India has more than 1.2 billion subscribers, and government figures show the app, launched in January, has helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones, including 50,000 in October alone.
Apple often refuses such requests
The government said the app was essential to combat “serious endangerment” of telecom cybersecurity from duplicate or spoofed IMEI numbers, which enable scams and network misuse.
Apple’s iOS powered an estimated 4.5 percent of 735 million smartphones in India by mid-2025, with the rest using Android, Counterpoint Research says.
While Apple pre-installs its own proprietary apps on phones, its internal policies prohibit installation of any government or third-party app before sale of a smartphone, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
“Apple has historically refused such requests from governments,” said Tarun Pathak, a research director at Counterpoint.
“It’s likely to seek a middle ground: instead of a mandatory pre-install, they might negotiate and ask for an option to nudge users toward installing the app.”
Apple, Google, Samsung and Xiaomi did not respond to requests for comment. India’s telecoms ministry also did not respond.
A 14- to 17-digit number unique to each handset, the IMEI, or International Mobile Equipment Identity, is most commonly used to cut off network access for phones reported to have been stolen.
The app is mainly designed to help users block and track lost or stolen smartphones across all telecom networks, using a central registry. It also lets them identify, and disconnect, fraudulent mobile connections.
With more than 5 million downloads since its launch, the app has helped block more than 3.7 million stolen or lost mobile phones, while more than 30 million fraudulent connections have also been terminated.
The government says it helps prevent cyber threats and assists tracking and blocking of lost or stolen phones, helping police to trace devices, while keeping counterfeits out of the black market.
India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app
https://arab.news/53cg2
India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app
- Directive affects Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi
- Government says app combats cybersecurity threats
Terror at Friday prayers: Witnesses describe blast rocking Islamabad mosque
- The Daesh group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications
ISLAMABAD: A worshipper at the Shiite mosque in Islamabad where dozens of people were killed in a suicide blast on Friday described an “extremely powerful” explosion ripping through the building just after prayers started.
Muhammad Kazim, 52, told AFP he arrived at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque shortly after 1:00 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Friday and took up a place around seven or eight rows from the Imam.
“During the first bow of the Namaz (prayer ritual), we heard gunfire,” he told AFP outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, where many of the wounded were brought for treatment.
“And while we were still in the bowing position, an explosion occurred,” he said.
Kazim, who is from Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan and lives in Islamabad, escaped unharmed, but accompanied his wounded friend to the PIMS hospital for treatment.
“It was unclear whether it was a suicide bombing, but the explosion was extremely powerful and caused numerous casualties,” Kazim said.
“Debris fell from the roof, and windows were shattered,” he added. “When I got outside, many bodies were scattered... Many people lost their lives.”
The Daesh group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications.
Another worshipper, Imran Mahmood, described a gunfight between the suicide bomber, a possible accomplice and volunteer security personnel at the mosque.
“The suicide attacker was trying to move forward, but one of our injured volunteers fired at him from behind, hitting him in the thigh,” Mahmood, in his fifties, told AFP.
“He fell but got up again. Another man accompanying him opened fire on our volunteers,” he said, adding the attacker “then jumped onto the gate and detonated the explosives.”
As of Saturday morning, the death toll stood at 31, with at least 169 wounded.
The attack was the deadliest in the Pakistani capital since September 2008, when 60 people were killed in a suicide truck bomb blast that destroyed part of the five-star Marriott hotel.
Lax security
Describing the aftermath of the attack, Kazim said unhurt worshippers went to the aid of those wounded.
“People tried to help on their own, carrying two or three bodies in the trunks of their vehicles, while ambulances arrived about 20 to 25 minutes later,” he told AFP.
“No one was allowed near the mosque afterwards.”
Kazim, who has performed Friday prayers at the mosque “for the past three to four weeks,” said security had been lax.
“I have never seen proper security in place,” he told AFP.
“Volunteers manage security on their own, but they lack the necessary equipment to do it effectively,” he said.
“Shiite mosques are always under threat, and the government should take this seriously and provide adequate security,” he added.
