ZTE accepts India's security rules for equipment

Chinese telecommunication equipment vendor ZTE has accepted the new security guidelines imposed by the Indian government. The company wrote to operator Tata Teleservices to notify the company of its acceptance, the Business Standard reports. Equipment maker Huawei Technologies has yet to decide on accepting the new measures. Under the proposed rules, the Indian government will make it mandatory for equipment suppliers to deposit the source code and design details in a government-controlled escrow to address security concerns. If the government detects any security breach or malware in the equipment there would be penalty equivalent to the contracted amount. Furthermore, operators will need to get their equipment imports cleared by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Tata Teleservices has informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of the assurance that ZTE would abide by the proposed policy and is waiting for a response on its planned imports. Many telecommunications vendors have criticised the new rules saying they would not release their proprietary source code.