Ericsson terms Indian security norms 'unjustly onerous'

Ericsson has asked the Indian government to overturn the recently unveiled security rules for network equipment suppliers, calling the new norms "unjustly onerous", reports the Economic Times. Ericsson has sought that it be exempted from sharing its source code and placing the code in an escrow account. The company has said that once the supplied products are certified by an agency of repute, as suggested in the proposed draft, escrowing of source code is not required. Ericsson also contested that the responsibility for security should not be vested completely on the foreign vendors. According to the company, all such requirements need to be discussed and mutually agreed between all parties. Also, the vendor cannot be expected to give access rights to its premises to the service provider anytime and without prior intimation, the company said in a letter to the Department of Telecom (DoT). There should be an overall cap on liability and it should not apply to every purchase order, the company added. The network major's move to seek a cap on the liabilities is related to a clause in the norms which state that penalties of 100 percent of the contract value will be imposed on mobile operators if any spyware or malware is found in their imported equipment. In a communique to the union home minister P Chidambaram, telecommunication minister A Raja and commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma and the US, Europe and Japan's trade associations, the company urged a a public consultation process with stakeholders to develop a regulatory framework that would address India's legitimate security concerns while minimising the impact on commercial transactions. The new rules are currently being incorporated in the licence agreements of all telecommucation companies. They were issued after security agencies and the home ministry raised concerns regarding imported telecommunication gear, especially those sourced from Chinese companies.