Every GSM phone by law should carry a unique IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number that identifies it. Similarly every CDMA phone is identified by an equivalent ESN (Electronic Security Number).
When you lose your mobile phone you can report this number to the mobile service providers and they can render the phone useless by blocking the particular IMEI code unique to your phone.
During terrorist strikes of the kind in Mumbai, it would have been possible to identify and locate a terrorist's mobile phone using this code and triangulation.
If the terrorist changes his SIM frequently on a particular mobile then the IMEI on the phone will alert the security agencies. If the terrorist changes his phone along with the SIM frequently then triangulation will alert the agencies about the particular location where this is taking place.
Recently India has been flooded with Chinese phones which do not carry IMEI numbers. At the cell towers these phones show up as a string of zeros. The Indian government is contemplating banning these phones. Many of the recent terrorist bombs placed in the city used Chinese phones as trigger devices. These phones seem to have grown in popularity with the terrorists.
However, these phones are also popular with consumers because of their low cost. It is estimated that some 25 million Chinese phones are in use in India. The government is grappling with the option of banning these phones. But this would mean that innocent consumers who own these phones will suddenly find them useless.
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20 comments:
Government need not ban the customers who are currently using it, atleast it can ban the import.
why is the government allowing the import of this pirated shits, the whole phone is an perfect example of copyright infringment and the software loaded on those phones are pirated which itself makes the phone sale illegal, but nobody seems to take notice of that
Very informative post.
I do not have have any deep knowledge of technology, so my question may be naive, but could not the terrorists have brought the cell phones with them by sea, as they brought the rest of their equipment?
Maybe they did not obtain them in India at all.
@manju
To use the phone they will have to switch it on. As soon as a phone is switched on it tries to connect with the cell tower (in this case the one nearest to Taj).
As soon as the phone powers up, the nearest Tower identifies this phone by its SIM and IMEI. In case the SIM is from Pakistan, the security agencies job becomes even easier (but terrorists are smarter they will use a local SIM to blend in, in this case too they had local SIMs). The IMEI numbers for phones are anyway unique, no matter which country they are purchased in. But typically using the IMEI number it will be possible to know which country the phone was purchased. So again terrorists will prefer phones bought in India.
This is an interesting bit of information, I didnt know about this IMEI, I wonder if this is the case for the U.S. I think it's the wrong approach for the govt, there's always ways around... and terrorists have been causing destruction long before there were cell phones too.
@Ms. O.D.
Yes all countries have IMEI/ESN including US.
You are right terrorists have been around since before cellphones. But the fact is that they use modern technology to cause more damage. The Mumbai terrorists had all the latest gadgets like GPS, Sat Phones, Blackberry's which they used to max effect.
i wonder if our government can even bother to provide good equipments and fire arms to our cops. its the bravery of an average indian police/army guy that has won us all those wars.
looking at the tech-impaired security guys, i wonder if this will ever be possible. (proper monitering of the phones).
TC. have a great sunday :)
I'm not a terrorist (the opposite, in fact) but I find it a bit scary that the government could track down my exact location using my mobile phone. Seems like an invasion of my privacy and pictures of Big Brother watching over me!
I'm pretty sure that anyone wanting to use a mobile phone to destroy or kill (setting off bombs, for example) would find a way of hiding their tracks .. without necessarily using Chinese imports. Banning them seems a case of shutting the door after the horse has run away. Ian
@Ian Peatey
Well in an Ideal world that would be a valid.
Today we leave a digital trace every time we do something. You visited this site and left a comment, that is stored on a system. That you live in city x is stored on a system. The sites you visited are stored.
Similarly if you use a navigator on your car, your whole route map is stored.
Telecom companies are already using your location details, your movement details and your calling patterns to see what kind of advertising to serve you.
We cannot get away from the "constant watch" if we choose to let electronics into our lives. Well the fact is most of us dont like it if the constant watch is being done by big brother. But are rather unconcerned if it is "small brother" - like say Google, AT&T, Airtel, etc. watching over.
Small brothers are already keeping a tab on us for commercial gain. I dont think there is anything wrong in now letting in big brother to do it for security purposes.
You are right! We leave traces everywhere we go and most of us (me included) are completely unaware of it. I try to avoid all this as much as possible but it's not easy. I would agree that it's ok IF I fully trusted that our big brother governments and small brother businesses have our bets interests at heart and really care about us all. Unfortunately, I don't have that much trust.
Thank you for the blog .. raising our awareness of these things is important! Also many thanks for visiting my blog! Ian
well, cheap priced is definitly the most affecting factor for one to buy products. elimination of security issues, or life-span can be accepted, as long it means less money to be paid :p
That is aweful... But you know what? From the first place, they should have not proliferated the market as they are not abiding with the laws! That poses threats indeed, not only to securty but they kill other decent producers of phones because theirs is abviously low cost.
As long as the people know the price is very affordable, they will buy the products.
hey guys - this is the most misleading propaganda of the millenium. Few profiteering overcost branded players with influence on few on authorities are riding high on the loss in terrorist attacks and taking advantage of the situation. Just 1 question - pak terrorist attacked us because we are importing chinese mobiles ? they were able to come easily through our territorial waters with are security sleeping on high seas because chinese mobiles exist in india. We can just not catch terrorist or take care of pak from last 50 years because chinese mobiles are used in India? We are real bunch of fools using chinese mobiles which give us lots of feature at such low cost and not pay high costs for much less provided by few branded mobiles -sold at 3 times their cost price? Come on guys what is this - imei is a problem with some mobiles but so is with some indian made too, most of chinese mobiles are of quality ,are with genuine imei and more than 90% of mobiles in world are manufactured in china-even so called branded mobiles in india.infact the irony is The question of illegal mobile from china has been disturbing most - the genuine chinese mobile importer from last few years who have been complaining to authorities themselves for so long in vein, as this illegal entry of illegal mobile is the only money making treat for customs , ond people in power.most Chinese mobiles too are branded and better quality than models of most known branded ones in india. Like Sigmatel,Nktel etc and many others.They have genuine Imei too.Infact all the details of imei and other details are furnished at customs beforehand then why this useless fuss n propaganda- just to favour unconcered profiteering so called branded players and dent the sales of good mobiles n technology which was taking over this nexus of brand players.infact innocent people using mobiles with no imei too should allowed to be uploaded with new imei update software - which costs Rs 100 only, as they should not be punished for authorities n people responsible for imports of such non imei mobiles earlier, Moreover the problem of identifying n tracking these mobiles too solves in this way- After all motive is security and protection of countrymen not to punish them for wrong deeds and at times negligence of authorities n gov themselves. JAGO INDIA JAGO
@Anonymous
Chinese mobiles are not the reason terrorists attacked, I think that much is clear. But it is also clear that this is a preferred mobile for terrorists as borne out by the recent attacks in Delhi and elsewhere.
You are also right that Chinese mobiles are cheaper, I think that is also very clear. Yes everyone needs cheaper solutions, including me, and any day we all prefer them. But we have to consider the security aspect too.
Yes 90% Chinese mobiles may have IMEI, but the 25 million that are there dont have it.
There is a software fix to this and presently that is what is being considered for Rs 100 as you say.
The fact is also that Chinese mobiles are a preferred tool for terrorists today. Ofcourse for terrorists too cost may be a concern, but more importantly it is the detectability aspect that attracts them.
If the Government has been foolish so far in letting non IMEI phones to operate then it is no reason they should be persisted.
As I have been saying throughout there are technology solutions available to a lot of problems, let us consider them.
The telcos need to block non IMEI phones, consumers with these phones need to get a software update, new phones without IMEI should not be allowed into the country. Very simple you will agree.
These mobiles must banned surely. With the security of our nation is a big question mark, this is a needy step that must be taken.
A very nice post :)
If it is dangerous for public, then it should be banned.
The government should certainly do something to stop the problem escalating, but not at the expense of people who already have one of these phones, perhaps not even realising.
I wonder how hard they would be to ban. Would smugglers bring them in? How many Indians use cell phone companies not based in India?
I really like the logo in the bottom of this post.
"don't forget,remember mumbai"
always support for fight against terrorism
Chinese Phones are not secure. this mobiles should banned but this step is not taken by high authority. Mobile india provides latest mobile news, reviews, specification.
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