India Orders Mobile Phones Preloaded With Government App To Ensure Cyber Safety

An anonymous reader shares a report: India's telecoms ministry has privately asked all smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cyber security app, a government order showed, a move set to spark a tussle with Apple, which typically dislikes such directives.

[...] The November 28 order, seen by Reuters, gives major smartphone companies 90 days to ensure that the government's Sanchar Saathi app is pre-installed on new mobile phones, with a provision that users cannot disable it. [...] In the order, the government said the app was essential to combat "serious endangerment" of telecom cyber security from duplicate or spoofed IMEI numbers, which enable scams and network misuse.