New Cybersecurity Rules: To curb the increasing cases of cyber fraud in India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has implemented new Cybersecurity rules. These rules will not only be applicable to major telecom companies like Airtel, Jio, BSNL and Vi (Vodafone Idea), but now the financial and insurance sectors related to it will also be affected. However, some tech experts have expressed concern that bringing non-telecom companies under the ambit of DoT could pose a challenge to user privacy.
DoT’s new step
According to the Economic Times Telecom report, DoT officials have clarified that the purpose of these new rules is to integrate telecom operators with banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.
DoT also said that its regulatory authority is limited only to licensed telecom operators and that the new rules are not meant to regulate unlicensed companies.
What is Mobile Number Validation Platform (MNV)?
The most important part of these new rules is the Mobile Number Validation (MNV) platform which DoT is preparing to launch soon. The purpose of this platform is to check whether a mobile number is actually owned by the same person whose name is recorded in the KYC (Know Your Customer) record.
Banks, fintech companies and insurance institutions will be able to verify the mobile numbers of customers while opening new accounts through this platform. This will ensure that the mobile number linked to a bank account or insurance policy belongs to the right person and this will prevent fraud and cyber fraud.
How will this platform stop cyber fraud?
Till now, there was no legal system in India that would allow banks or institutions to check whether the mobile number actually belongs to the account holder or not. This new MNV platform of DoT will fill this gap.
Under this, banks and other institutions will be able to directly confirm the validity of the mobile number from the telecom companies. This is expected to bring a major reduction in incidents like fraudulent transactions, fake SIM cards and opening of fake accounts.
To which companies will these rules not apply?
DoT has clarified that these rules will not apply to e-commerce, food delivery or other online business platforms. Their scope will be limited only to those institutions which are directly connected to telecom networks and financial services.
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