New Delhi: How old is your SIM card? If it is too old or has Chinese components, then you might have to change it. The government is considering replacing old SIM cards. An investigation by the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) and the Home Ministry has found that some SIM cards used chips of Chinese origin, raising concerns about national security.
The NCSC held a meeting with major telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio, and the telecom department. The objective of the meeting was to address security concerns related to purchasing new SIM cards and develop a framework to replace old ones.
India has over 1 billion mobile customers, and if some of them have Chinese components in their SIM cards, it poses a significant security concern for the authorities—especially since the government has already banned Chinese device makers like Huawei and ZTE due to national security concerns.
Who is at fault?
According to the report, some SIM card vendors misused the 'Trusted Source Certification.' Initially, they obtained the certification by claiming to purchase SIM card chips from trusted sources, but it was later discovered that some chips were of Chinese origin.
Telecom operators outsource the procurement of their SIM cards to third-party vendors. These vendors source chips from countries like Vietnam and Taiwan, then assemble, package, and serialize them in India before supplying them to mobile service providers.
