Govt issues security guidelines for Wi-Fi connections in public places

Government has taken adequate steps to ensure security of Wi-Fi connections in public places. Intentionally damaging or tampering with telegraphs or unlawfully attempting to learn the contents of messages is a punishable offence as per the Section 24, 25 & 26 of the Indian Telegraph Act. There are provisions in the form of clause no. 37.1 to 37.4 in the license granted to all licensees which mandates deployment of appropriate mechanisms to meet the requirement of confidentiality, security and privacy of data. Moreover, DoT has issued instructions in Feb’2009 to all Internet Service Providers regarding safeguards in provision of Wi-Fi Internet services in the delicensed frequency band for secure use of Wi-Fi services including those provided at public places. Further, a document on Security in Public Wi-Fi Implementations-Best Practices have been issued to Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

The Security related Guidelines by Government under PM-WANI scheme are as detailed below:

• Provisions of Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) for storage of user data for one year to ensure compliance with legal provisions, as required.
• User data privacy is to be ensured by App Providers and PDOAs. Complete user data and usage logs is to be stored within India.
• Provisions by the App Provider, PDOA and Central Registry Provider to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of any information about a third party to whom it provides the service.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Communications, Devusinh Chauhan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

CT Bureau