Home Ministry asks DoT to Initiate Strict Action against 2 Cos

NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry has asked the Department of Telecom to initiate "strict" action and levy fine on two telecom companies for failing to provide exact details of people using Internet. In an internal communication to DoT Secretary R Chandrashekar, a Joint Director of a central security agency, working under the Home Ministry, said Internet Protocol addresses were provided along with exact dates and timings to some telecom service providers. However, the two firms -- a private telecom company and a foreign company -- providing Internet solution in India, were "unable to provide us with exact details and actual user in case of communication" used through mobiles phones. "As a result, we have been unable to trace our targets. Lack of timely and precise input from the telecom service provider hampers operational effectiveness of the data sought which results in operational ineffectiveness and failure of the ongoing operation, thus undermining the importance of national security," the note said. Listing out the cases, it said that a request had been made to one of the largest private telecom companies of India on May 7 and May 9 with date and exact time for resolving two IP addresses related to internet activity concerning national security. "But the service provider could not locate the actual user who accessed the internet during the given time," it said. Another request was made to a foreign company on May 10 with all required details. However, it also failed in providing the details. The note cited the communication of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology issued on February 6, 2012, asking all telecom service providers to put in place a suitable mechanism for interception.