Mobile security: still a long way to go

New Delhi, Feb 4 (UNI) It may be a known fact that the mobile phone industry is adding over six million subscribers every year but many are not aware that over Rs 500 crore worth of cellular handsets are stolen or lost each year.

To make matters worse, there is no potent mechanism to track and retrieve the stolen phones by their legal owners. Law is also not pro-consumer if the phone loss is not reported in time and the instrument has been used for illegal purposes.

Information Technology Act 2000 states, ''In case it is a portentous theft or hacking of any mobile instrument then the aggrieved party could be in potential problem. This could be all the more aggravated if the said mobile set is used for criminal activities or terrorist purposes. In that case the persons would remain equally liable as he would have been deemed to admit that he conspired in the said illegal acts.'' Taking due diligence of the situation, Indian Cellular Association (ICA) has called for creation of a 'Central Registry Agency', where a consumer or service provider can register the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identifier) and other details of the sets in their possession or control by way of email.

''In our recommendations for the Union Budget 2007-08, we have suggested a central registry which can help in tracking down a lost or stolen phone with the help of IMEI number, which can be accessed by typing *06 on the phone,'' ICA National President Pankaj Mahindroo said.

GSM Association, the global trade association for the world's GSM mobile operators, is also introducing plans to cut cost on setting up Equipment Identity Registers (EIR) -- local databases used to blacklist stolen phones.

Not far behind are mobile handsets manufacturers who are gearing up to tackle the issue by developing user-friendly technology that provides safety against phone theft.

Samsung Telecommunications India has introduced, for the first time in India, features like Mobile Tracker, Emergency SMS and Privacy Lock, which allow users to ensure their phone and personal safety in one of its CDMA models.

''In Mobile Tracker, an SMS informs two numbers, pre-fed by the original user, about the whereabouts of the phone when the stolen handset is used. The original user can get this information from these two numbers and can approach police to retrieve the phone,'' the company's Managing Director H C Ryu said.

The company is planning to introduce these features across all its handsets soon, he added.

However, no safeguards are yet available against the potential hacking or corruption of personal information in mobile sets.

''Software mechanism called Digital Right Management (DRM) is there in most of the handsets to control hacking but no framework has yet been formed by the government for its use by service providers,'' Samsung Electronics Head of Corporate Communications Yuvraj Mehta said.

To strengthen the legal safeguards, government is considering amendments to the Information Technology Act 2000. ''The amendements have been tabled in the Lok Sabha and are presently before the Standing Committee of Parliament,'' pointed out Supreme Court Advocate and Cyberlaw Consultant Pavan Duggal.

Parliament is seeking to make the law technology neutral and trying to provide remedies to the common man. It is also seeking to introduce new provisions relating to identity-thefts, Mr Duggal added.

''We are likely to see far more flooding in this area of crime, and hence some severe steps need to be taken to address the problem.

I feel that the government and the Standing Committee need to ensure more safeguards as well as empowerment of genuine and bonafide mobile users of India,'' he said.

While the industry and the government are trying to hit the right framework to ensure users' safety against theft or hacking of the phone, the best safeguard is still in the hands of users, who can use PIN lock to disallow any unauthorised person to access the information therin. And switching off the bluetooth device when not in use is always a safe option! UNI