Telecom Department Rectifies Publishing Error on Cybersecurity Rules
New Delhi: On Thursday, the Department of Telecommunications announced the retraction of certain republished regulations concerning telecom cybersecurity, clarifying that the erroneous publication was a mistake, resulting from the inadvertent placement in the Gazette instead of another rule pending consultation.
The original Telecommunication Cyber Security (TCS) Amendment Rules, 2025, which were officially notified on October 22, will remain in effect.
The TCS rules are designed to mitigate critical vulnerabilities that have proliferated alongside the increasing integration of telecom identifiers in various digital sectors, including banking, e-commerce, and e-governance.
Furthermore, these regulations aim to facilitate the identification of mobile numbers, devices, and other telecom resources implicated in fraudulent activities.
A duplicate of this notification was mistakenly republished on October 29, a misstep that the Department of Telecommunications rectified through a subsequent notification on November 25.
“This error now stands amended by the Department of Telecommunications via notification GSR 863 (E) dated 25.11.2025, which nullifies the unintentional re-publication of TCS Amendment Rules.
This rescindment does not invalidate the original amendments that instituted the rules,” read a statement from the Department of Telecommunications.
This amendment underscores India’s dedication to fostering secure, transparent, and conscientious telecom operations. The revised rules seek to close existing regulatory loopholes and fortify cyber resilience through collaborative frameworks with entities utilizing telecom identifiers.
Notably, the rules advocate for the establishment of a Mobile Number Validation (MNV) platform designed to mitigate the escalation of mule accounts and identity fraud stemming from unverified associations of mobile numbers with financial and digital services.
The MNV mechanism empowers service providers to verify, via a decentralized and privacy-compliant platform, whether a mobile number linked to a service genuinely belongs to the individual whose credentials are on file, thereby bolstering trust in digital transactions.
The amended regulations also address concerns regarding the burgeoning second-hand device market, which has emerged as a hub for the circulation of blacklisted, stolen, or cloned phones, putting legitimate buyers at risk of legal entanglements.
Under these provisions, entities engaged in the resale or refurbishment of devices are mandated to verify each device’s IMEI number against a centralized database of blacklisted IMEIs prior to resale, thereby safeguarding consumers and assisting law enforcement in tracking stolen items.
Additionally, the regulations require telecom identifier user entities (TIUEs), such as banks and e-commerce firms, to share pertinent telecom-identifier data with governmental authorities in specific regulated situations.
Such initiatives aim to enhance traceability, accountability, and collaboration in addressing telecom-linked cyber fraud, all while remaining compliant with data protection statutes.
“Collectively, these amendments seek to shield India’s digital ecosystem from telecom-enabled fraud, bolster device traceability, and advocate for the responsible application of telecom identifiers,” asserted the statement.
“The TCS Amendment Rules, 2025, represent a pivotal advancement toward a resilient, interoperable, and future-ready telecom cybersecurity framework that harmonizes innovation with privacy and national security,” the statement concluded.
Source link: Freepressjournal.in.
