No more OTPs after November 1? Telecom companies working towards online safety

The new initiative has been taken to address a common tactic used by cybercriminals to impersonate officials and deceive unsuspecting victims, strengthening India’s defences against such fraudulent activities.

In a recent announcement, Indian telecom giants, including Jio and Airtel, have expressed their concerns over new regulations set by TRAI, for barring OTPs. The new regulation will be implemented on November 1, and these rules mandate that the telecom companies will ensure traceability for all transactional and service messages sent by e-commerce platforms, banks and other financial institutions. 

TRAI's rules further require telecom companies to block any message with an irregular sending chain, which potentially disrupts the delivery of OTPs and other important alerts.

Telecoms call for an extension to avoid disruption

Initially, it was TRAI which directed the telecom operators to track messages from banks and financial institutions as early as August 2023. But now, as the November ...