Impractical demand

Sharing source codes with DoT will only create roadblocks

The proposal by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that all mobile device manufacturers and telecom network equipment suppliers must share the source codes of all equipment with the department is misconceived on several grounds. It is being opposed by the industry and rightly so. The DoT has reportedly suggested this recently as part of the protocol for the draft Indian Telecommunications Security Assurance Requirements (ITSAR), which has been in discussion for a year. The DoT wants all network equipment and devices to be supplied to the department for security certification after testing, including testing by third parties. This is supposedly