The government has withdrawn the requirement of Sanchar Sathi app in the phone. According to the expert, this app does not spy. It is activated by the user and helps in fighting cyber crime, for which it takes limited permissions.
On December 1, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued a major order that every smartphone sold or imported in India within the next 90 days must have the Sanchar Sathi app pre-installed. Although this decision has also been withdrawn, its purpose was to deal with the rapidly growing cyber crime ecosystem, especially scam calls, IMEI fraud and phone theft. After this directive, there was a lot of anger online – interference in privacy, fear of government spying were also mentioned.
Although the government on Wednesday announced that mobile manufacturers will no longer be required to pre-install the Sanchar Sathi app on all new smartphones, Asianet English’s Heena Sharma spoke to India’s leading cyber security expert Amit Dubey to sort out the truth from the fear people have.
‘Pre-installed does not mean activated’
Clearing the misunderstanding, Amit Dubey said- No, it will not be activated. You have to activate it. Pre-installed apps in mobiles are common – social media, OTT streaming platforms, UPI wallets but none work without user login. When you buy a phone, it comes pre-installed with Facebook or some UPI applications. Similarly, some phones also come pre-loaded with OTT platforms. But that doesn’t mean you can start using them. You’ll still need to create an account, log in, configure it, and make payments. Only then you can use it. So even though the app is installed, it doesn’t do anything on its own. It just sits in your phone. You must configure and log in first. Only then can you use Communication Partner.
Permission anxiety: The real issue is communication…
Why does the app ask for camera, call logs or SMS access? Dubey said- Giving access to some functionality to an app does not mean that the app is collecting this data. It clearly says that this app does not collect anything. It doesn’t download. It is not stored anywhere. Access is only available when the user chooses to report. You grant this camera access because you would like to scan a QR code…If you are receiving unsolicited communications, that access is only granted during the time you are reporting that content.
‘People trust big tech companies more than your government’
Dubey said- Trust in technology has now become selective and that too without any argument. Facebook knows your political beliefs, your religious beliefs, your financial data. They are listening to you all the time. Users willingly share biometrics, spending habits and location with private apps, but when a government tool comes in with a good cause, people get nervous.
“The government doesn’t need to install any app to monitor you.”
He said- “The government does not need to specifically ask you to install anything. They do not need to do that. If the government wants to do it, they can do it without installing anything. This is not just with your government. This is with any government, any country. The government is powerful. The government has to keep its people safe. They can also ask the telecom operator or any service provider. So do not think that they are listening to you all the time. No one has There is no time, and this is a country of 140 crore people, you cannot do this to everyone.
India’s Cyber Reality: Awareness alone cannot save us
According to NCRB data, 1 cyber crime occurs every 7 minutes in India. Dubey said- No matter how much awareness you spread, it will not work in a country like India. We have been doing this for the last 20 years, but people are still unaware of some basic things. This is why now more emphasis has been laid on the app. Despite low awareness, the results seem to be more effective. Sanchar Sathi app is not a new app. It’s been like this for almost a year. The portal has been around for 3 years. In the last one year I think it’s had about 10 million downloads. In the last one year, we have recovered more than 24 lakh phones because of this app and 42 lakh phones were blocked because of this app. 66 lakh devices were prevented from criminal use.
IMEI Spoofing Is Not the Crisis You Think
Many fear that tech-savvy fraudsters will bypass the app by using IMEI tampering tools. Dubey told- us [IMEI स्पूफिंग] Found in only 0.001% of cases, more than 99 percent of the time criminals are using your phone as it is. That’s why we were able to block him. Otherwise, if they were all spoofs, how would we be able to block them?” Blocking stolen IMEIs is easy in India.
Cyber security is a mutual responsibility
Dubey raised the question: How can authorities track down these criminals and recover what was lost? According to him, even the small progress that has been made shows that efforts are being made in the right direction. The intention behind these initiatives is mainly to take quick action. If the crime has already been committed, the communication partner cannot do anything. The communication partner will only actively help you. If something is coming to you, calling you, at that time you can report and the number will be blocked but if you have already lost money, then communication partner is not doing anything for that.
He said- Cyber security is a mutual responsibility. This cannot be achieved alone. When people ignore fraud attempts, they unknowingly enable criminals. If I know it’s a scammer’s number but I don’t report it, I’ve actually enabled that criminal to rob someone else. If I see a girl walking alone and people are harassing her, and I don’t report then that is also my responsibility. Therefore, the community in cyberspace should join hands and make joint efforts so that we can together target the criminals.
Cyber crime: A ₹1 lakh crore industry that moves faster than policing…
“We cannot prove that this person is the same person. Post-mortem activities will not help you. The only thing that will help you is – report, block. Report, block.”
Why is it difficult to stop? Because criminals hide behind them…
- stolen phones
- Bank accounts fraudulently opened using farmers’ Aadhaar
- SIM cards taken in the name of others
- Constantly changing GPS location
Cyber crime has now become an industry. This is an industry worth Rs 100000 crore.
“Safe” countries of the world do more surveillance than India…
When asked about countries like UK, he said – they are safe because they are more alert. They are tracking every single activity through the same server. There is more monitoring going on there. Every country is facing more cyber crime than India. Man remains the weakest link.
India can become the first country in the world to achieve this…
Dubey believes that India can lead global cyber policing. If we could do this it would be a revolution. No one in the world could do this. India will lead it. We can actually unite crores of people against criminals. It’s not just an app – but a potential weapon of mass against cybercriminals.