India now has 9 telecom security testing laboratories for IP routers

New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) In a boost to the telecom security testing ecosystem, the government on Tuesday designated one more telecom security testing laboratory for security testing of IP routers.

The National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS) under Department of Telecommunications, designated Noida-based Compliance International as a Telecom Security Testing Laboratory (TSTL) for testing IP routers under the Communication Security Certification (ComSec) scheme.

With this addition, the number of designated TSTLs in India has increased to nine.

These TSTLs are spread across Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.

These laboratories provide pan-India access, enabling faster and more cost-effective compliance testing for OEMs, importers, and service providers, closer to their business hubs, according to the Ministry of Communications.

The designated laboratories are authorised to conduct security testing for 27 categories of telecommunication equipment, which includes IP Routers, Wi-Fi CPEs, Optical Line Terminals (OLTs), Optical Network Terminals (ONTs), and 23 Network functions of the 5G Core.

Security testing of multiple telecom products is already underway in these labs. A complete list of designated laboratories and the equipment categories assigned to them is available on the NCCS portal, according to the ministry.

This latest addition marks another step toward realising the Government’s vision of making Indian a global hub for telecom security testing and certification.

NCCS has been mandated to operationalize the framework of security testing and certification for the telecom/ICT products in India under the ComSec scheme.

This scheme falls under broader ‘Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE)’, rules notified in September 2017 with security testing as one of the technical regulations.

The scheme mandates every OEM/importer/dealer who wishes to sell, import or use any telecom equipment in India, shall have to get their equipment security tested and certified under this scheme, according to the ministry.

--IANS

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