Update on Indian SMS wiretapping
An update on Indian government efforts to expand their already broad wiretapping capabilities to include SMS cellphone text messaging. Indian authorities have been accused several times of shutting down the SMS network in an effort to block dissident communications. The current push is for wireless phone providers to record and retain all SMS messages for an undisclosed period of time.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, which frames policies regarding security issues, wants wireless service providers to install equipment that makes it possible to tap text messages sent via short message service, or SMS. The Ministry of Communications is pressuring companies to comply.[...]
“The government has been seeking information from the industry regarding this (tapping of SMS),” said T.V. Ramachandran of the Cellular Operators Association of India. “We will cooperate with the government on the issue.”
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This isn’t the first time the government has pushed businesses to help it snoop on its citizens.
Internet service providers here are required to monitor e-mail as part of their licensing conditions. Also, cellular companies have installed equipment that allows simultaneous tapping of up to 180 lines from all service providers in each of the country’s 21 telecom circles.
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“All communication in any form on the telephone should be monitored,” said an official at the Ministry of Communications who spoke on condition of anonymity. When mobile multimedia services launch in India, they will also be tracked, he said.
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Under the SMS monitoring policy, wireless service providers will be asked to maintain records of all the messages exchanged by subscribers. It is not clear yet how long the data will be archived.
Specialized software would scan a range of variables to profile SMS users. For example, it might pick up on a subscriber who regularly sends text messages to people in countries suspected of abetting terrorists. The software alerts the service provider, which informs the security agencies. The software might also single out someone who sends one message in a week or two to such countries, but the intelligence agencies will be less interested in that person.
– Wired, India’s Short Message: We C U.