Fresh guidelines for telecom operators after Idea fiasco
Press Trust Of India, Sun-01-May-2011, New Delhi
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New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The central security agencies
have taken serious note of destruction of details of nearly
1.2 crore SIM cards belonging to Idea Cellular, terming it as
a "security lapse", and worked out fresh guidelines for
telecom operators for maintaining of records of consumers.
In a report, the central security agencies said
inquires into the fire incident at Jyoti Warehouse, Aslali in
Ahmedabad, where nearly two crore Consumer Application Forms
(CAFs) of Idea Cellular were stored, have found that the
telecom service provider had outsourced the storage and
maintenance of these forms.
The warehouse had CAFs from 1996 onwards when it
caught fire in February this year. After the incident it was
found that only 80 lakh forms had been scanned while details
of 1.2 crore had been destroyed.
"It is further transpired that the firm, to which the
job had been outsourced, was privy to requisitions made by the
law enforcement agencies for CAF documents of suspects. This
is a security lapse," the report submitted to Union Home
Ministry said.
"The incident not only highlights the fact that
important data has been completly lost, but also underscores
the slow rate at which the digitisation of subscriber data was
being carried out," it said.
Following this incident, the telecom service providers
have been asked to ensure quick and time bound scanning of all
CAFs, proper duplication of records with a mirror image in the
archives, the stores where the CAF have been kept should have
fire proof arrangements and secure from other hazards.
"In case storage and upkeep of CAF is outsourced, the
agency, to which the job is outsourced, should never become
privy to the requisitions placed by the Law Enforcement
Agencies on the service provider for CAF documents," it said.
PTI
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