The Indian government is now proposing that device manufacturers share source code as part of a security measure it plans to introduce, according to a Reuters report. The 83 new security standards that will be introduced will also require the government to notify the government of any software updates it plans to make.
The new standards were introduced by the Indian government as an effort to improve user data security to combat online fraud and data leaks in India. But the request to access the source code has angered manufacturers because it could reveal the security systems used on devices.
Among other demands that have received criticism is the requirement to keep digital logs of device usage for 12 months. Industry players say that if logs are to be kept, the storage of users' devices would be taken up by the huge amount of log data, making this requirement impractical.
The government also wants to see and test every security patch that manufacturers want to provide before it reaches the public's devices. This is seen as unhelpful in a situation where important security patches need to be provided immediately.
This is the second time the Indian government has sought to issue a directive that is seen as violating user privacy. Last year, the Communications Ministry wanted to make the Sanchar Saathi (Communications Partner) app mandatory as an initiative to combat online fraud, illegal device sales and prevent device theft. It was scrapped after receiving negative feedback that saw it as a government app spying on users' activities.
