Lok Sabha Question No. 780 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: Security of Telecom Network to prevent Cyber Attacks
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Smt. Anita Nagarsingh Chouhan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 780 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## SECURITY OF TELECOM NETWORK TO PREVENT CYBER ATTACKS

## †780.   SMT. ANITA NAGARSINGH CHOUHAN:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) the policy and technical measures taken by the Government to strengthen the security of the telecom network and to prevent cyber attacks and misuse of telecommunications infrastructure in the country;

(b) the progress made so far in preventing cyber fraud, fake calls/messages, SIM-swap fraud and digital financial crimes along with the outcomes thereof;

(c) whether any citizen-centric digital initiatives have been taken to ensure public safety, data privacy and availability of service; and

(d) if so, the details of the public awareness programme, grievance redressal mechanisms and coordination among various departments under these initiatives?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) Department of  Telecommunications  have taken various  policy  and  technical  measures  to strengthen  the  security  of  the  telecom  network  and  to  prevent  cyber-attacks  and  misuse  of telecommunications infrastructure in the country. The notable ones are as under:

- 1) DoT and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have devised a system to identify and block incoming international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers. The system has resulted in almost 99% reduction in such calls.
- 2) DoT has developed an online secure Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) for sharing of information related to  misuse of telecom resources  with different  stakeholders' central security  agencies,  State/UT  Police,  Banks,  UPI  service  providers,  Telecom  Service Providers (TSPs) etc.
- 3) DoT directive requires Telecom Service Providers to audit their network or get the network audited from security point of view once a year or as and when configuration of network is changed significantly, from a network certification agency which is accredited to carry out the network audit under international standards such as ISO/IEC 270011 including Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT). An external audit of the TSPs network is mandatory once in a period of three years.

- 4) DoT has issued advisory to telecom service providers to strengthen protection of sensitive telecom datasets such as Subscriber Detail Record (SDR), Call Detail Record (CDR) and IP Detail Record (IPDR) for the security of data at rest and transit.
- 5) DoT  has  issued  instructions  on  'Minimum  Requirement  for  Security  Policy  of  DoT Licensees' to be complied with by all licensees. Security Policy will provide direction for establishment, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement in Security and Security Management.
- 6) Cross  Check  Network  Security  Audit  of  TSPs/ISPs  is  being  done  annually  to  ensure security  of  network  equipment,  software,  supply  chains  and  data  management  from perspective of national security.
- 7) The  Department  has  established  a  Telecom  Security  Operations  Centre  (TSOC)  to enhance situational awareness, monitoring, and coordination on telecom cyber security matters.

(b) DoT has developed Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), which is a risk-based metric that classifies  a  mobile  number  to  have  been  associated  with  Medium,  High,  or  Very  High  risk  of financial fraud. FRI empowers stakeholders-especially banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies ( NBFCs), and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service providers to prioritize enforcement and take additional  customer  protection  measures  in  case  a  mobile  number  has  high  risk.  As  reported  by stakeholders, total fraud amount prevented based on transaction decline and alert/notifications given to citizens is more than ₹1,000 crores.

(c) DoT has developed Sanchar Saathi, a citizen centric initiative, which facilitates citizens to report suspected fraud Communications, to know mobile connections in their name, to report lost/ stolen mobile handsets, to check genuineness of mobile handset etc. Outcomes of Sanchar Saathi are as under:

- a. 27.96 lakh lost/ stolen mobile handsets have been traced and 8.22 lakh lost/ stolen mobile handsets have been recovered and returned to rightful owners by State/ UT Police.
- b. 2.22 crore mobile connections have been disconnected based on reporting by citizens as 'Not My Number' or 'Not Required'.
- c. 39.42  lakh  mobile connections have  been disconnected  based  on 7.72  lakh inputs provided by vigilant citizens related to suspected fraud communications.

(d) DoT has been actively promoting digital safety and preventing telecom-related fraud through widespread awareness campaigns under Sanchar Saathi and FRI initiatives. Explainer videos and infographics  about  these  initiatives  are  regularly  prepared  and  uploaded  on  DoT's  social  media platforms for spreading awareness.  DoT has also launched Sanchar Mitra scheme, through which student volunteers have been engaged to educate citizens about digital safety, fraud prevention, and the use of the Sanchar Saathi portal and app. Apart from above, citizen outreach includes multilingual news articles and ads, digital screens and hoardings in public spaces, TV and radio messages, locallevel activities by DoT field units, SMS campaigns with Telecom Service Providers, and extensive social media content.

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