(a) whether SIM card cloning has become a fast growing business in all parts of the country as reported in the Hindu dated February 4,2005; and
(b) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to prevent SIM card cloning?
(a) whether SIM card cloning has become a fast growing business in all parts of the country as reported in the Hindu dated February 4,2005; and
(b) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to prevent SIM card cloning?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)
(a) & (b) As far as Global System for Mobile (GSM) networks in the country are concerned, in which Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards are used in mobile phones, no instance of cloning of SIM cards has been reported in the country so far. Moreover, no complaint of cloning of SIM cards in GSM network has been referred by any Service Provider either with the Department of Telecommunications or with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
However, cloning of Code Division Multiplex Access (CDMA) mobile phones have come to the notice. The CDMA phones do not have a SIM card.
The cloning of SIM cards may cause concerns to security of the country. However, the same can be avoided by making chances of cloning extremely rare by having latest authentication algorithms and timely detecting cases in pro-active manner using Fraud Management System.
In this regard, GSM Association has already circulated security algorithms to its members. The network operators are required to deploy and activate the same in all SIM cards and their network. Some of the Operators have already deployed such algorithms in their network.