Cyber criminals are in trouble now! The government has issued new cybersecurity rules; find out what will change for you.

New Cybersecurity Rules: To curb the rising cases of cyber fraud in India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has implemented new cybersecurity rules.

New Cybersecurity Rules: To curb the rising cases of cyber fraud in India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has implemented new cybersecurity rules. These rules will not only apply to major telecom companies like Airtel, Jio, BSNL, and Vi (Vodafone Idea), but will also impact the financial and insurance sectors associated with them. However, some tech experts have expressed concern that bringing non-telecom companies under the DoT's purview could pose a challenge to user privacy.

DoT's New Move

According to a report in the Economic Times Telecom, DoT officials have clarified that the purpose of these new rules is to integrate telecom operators with banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.

The DoT also stated that its regulatory authority is limited only to licensed telecom operators and that these new rules are not intended to regulate unlicensed companies.

What is the Mobile Number Validation Platform (MNV)?

The most important component of these new rules is the Mobile Number Validation (MNV) platform, which the DoT is preparing to launch soon. The purpose of this platform is to verify whether a mobile number is actually owned by the person whose name is listed in KYC (Know Your Customer) records.

Banks, fintech companies, and insurance institutions will be able to verify customers' mobile numbers when opening new accounts through this platform. This will ensure that the mobile number associated with a bank account or insurance policy belongs to the correct person, preventing fraud and cyber fraud.

How will this platform prevent cyber fraud?

Until now, there was no legal system in place in India that allowed banks or institutions to verify whether a mobile number actually belongs to the account holder. This new MNV platform from DoT will address this gap.

Under this platform, banks and other institutions will be able to verify the validity of mobile numbers directly with telecom companies. This is expected to significantly reduce incidents such as fraudulent transactions, fake SIM cards, and fake account openings.

Which companies will not be subject to these rules?

DoT has clarified that these rules will not apply to e-commerce, food delivery, or other online business platforms. They will only apply to institutions directly connected to telecom networks and financial services.