India Orders Mobile Phones Preloaded With Government App To Ensure Cyber Safety

An anonymous reader shares a report: India's telecoms ministry has privately asked all smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cyber security app, a government order showed, a move set to spark a tussle with Apple, which typically dislikes such directives.

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. In the order, the government said the app was essential to combat 'serious endangerment' of telecom cyber security from duplicate or spoofed IMEI numbers, which enable scams and network misuse.

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