The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has demanded that the telecoms ministry ask mobile phone companies to put mechanisms in place to track internet usage on mobile phones.
The IB is of the view that internet usage on computers where the connectivity is offered via Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are traceable. But the same is not applicable when it comes to browsing on mobile phones as telcos had not set up facilities for real time tracking of websites visited by their customers.
The IB further added that even when provided with Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of websites, telcos were unable identify customers who had visited or browsed these sites.
ET reviewed a copy of this IB communication to the telecoms department.
This marks the latest in a series of steps the government is taking to monitor mobile and internet usage in the country on security grounds. In late 2011, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM), after a two-year standoff, finally set up a server in Mumbai for lawful interception of its messenger services. The government has also asked Nokia to follow suit to enable security agents to legally track down its push mails.
The government also plans to ask email service providers such as Yahoo, Gmail, Microsoft and others to route all emails accessed in India, through servers based here, even if the mail account was registered or made in a foreign land. ET had reported on Tuesday that internal government documents reviewed by the paper had revealed that during a recent high-level meeting held in the office of Union Home Secretary RK Singh, the department of Information technology was asked to take up the matter of setting up local servers with providers of services such as Gmail, Windows Mobile Active Email, Nokia Intellisinc Email, Yahoo mail and others. In this meet, it was also decided to set up an 'India-centric Skype' to address national security concerns. The 'Indian Skype' may be used by government officials to communicate with each other.
Following the IB's demand, it is learnt that DoT has asked mobile phone companies 'to put in place suitable mechanism to uniquely identify individual subscribers based on IP addresses provided by law enforcement agencies'.
The DoT had also formed a core group 'for finalisation of Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) for internet and GPRS service, and standardization of parameters that will have to be stored by mobile phone companies in a log', according to an internal department note.