Annual North Zone Conference on Security Related Matters held at Kiarighat Himachal Pradesh

Kiarighat (District Solan, November 06, 2025: The Himachal Pradesh Licensed Service Area (LSA) of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under the Director General Telecom (DGT) Headquarters organized the Annual North Zone Conference on Security Related Matters on 6th November 2025 at Hotel Meghdoot, HPTDC Kiarighat, District Solan.

The conference was attended by officers from the North Zone LSAs of DoT - Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) along with representatives from Central and State Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Ladakh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Senior officials from Telecom Service Providers such as Airtel, Reliance Jio, BSNL, Vodafone Idea Ltd., and representatives from RBI, SBI, Paytm, COAI and ISPAI also participated. More than 100 delegates attended the event, reflecting the significance of telecom security in the country which today serves over 122 crore wireline and wireless subscribers.

The conference witnessed a virtual address by Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (Telecom) and Chairman, Digital Communications Commission (DCC) The event was also graced by the presence of Sunita Chandra Director General Telecom, and Deb Kumar Chakrabarti Member (Services), DCC Additional Director Generals Telecom from the seven LSAs, senior officers from DoT Headquarters, and representatives from various stakeholder organizations also participated in the deliberations.

In his address. Dr. Mittal emphasized the growing importance of securing telecom networks in an era of rapid digital transformation The dignitaries underlined the need for close coordination among regulatory bodies, service providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure the integrity, confidentiality and resilience of telecom infrastructure.

The discussions during the conference focused on strengthening cooperation among stakeholders, sharing best practices, and addressing emerging security challenges such as cyber financial frauds misuse of telecom resources and illegal telecom operations. The participants deliberated on key security-related areas including lawful interception, telecom data protection, cyber incident response mechanisms and detection of illegal telecom setups. The Department of Telecommunications has launched several citizen-centric initiatives to enhance telecom security and protect users from fraud The Sanchar Saathi Portal, launched in April 2023, and the Sanchar Saathi Mobile App, launched in January 2025, enable citizens to report lost or stolen mobile devices, register complaints regarding cyber and financial frauds, and verify mobile connections issued in their name The system uses Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition technologies to identify and curb fraudulent activities.

In the past two years, more than 4 crore suspicious mobile connections have been disconnected, and around 6 lakh mobile handsets have been recovered by State Police authorities through coordinated efforts using the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) platform The DoT also introduced Financial Fraud Risk Indicators (FRI) in May 2025, a framework that classifies mobile numbers associated with financial frauds into medium, high and very high-risk categories The system provides real-time intelligence to banks and financial institutions to help them prevent fraudulent transactions and alert customers about potential risks. The conference included presentations and panel discussions on topics such as North Zone Security Issues utilization of Sanchar Saathi modules (Chakshu, CEIR) combating cyber financial frauds strengthening telecom cyber security challenges in detecting illegal telecom setups, and the roles of Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) and Telecom Cyber Security Incident Response Team (T-CSIRT).

In her remarks. Sunita Chandra, Director General Telecom, highlighted that telecom security is not only about systems but also about people, awareness and collaboration. She stressed that collective efforts of all stakeholders are essential to create a cyber-safe and trusted digital ecosystem. The conference concluded with a reaffirmed commitment to building a secure, resilient and citizen-friendly telecom infrastructure. The deliberations are expected to pave the way for more effective coordination among stakeholders and contribute to the vision of a cyber-secure and digitally empowered India.