The Department of Telecom is set to roll out the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), a centralised database of the IMEI numbers of all mobile devices in the country "in the coming weeks", the Indian Express reports. An IMEI number is a unique 15-digit code assigned to every mobile device to help identify it on a network and block it if required. It is often use by law enforcement agencies to track and capture suspects through their phones. Currently, each mobile operator has its own database of IMEI numbers on its network, so if a phone is stolen, it can only be blocked from accessing the network it was on previously. The CEIR will combine all the databases into single, centralised database to enable the blocking of devices across all networks. Once implemented, people who lose their phones will be able to inform the DoT, which will block the IMEI number and prevent it from accessing any cellular network in the country. This, the DoT hopes, will result in fewer phones being stolen. Is this just for stolen phones? No. The DoT says the CEIR will also help clamp down on counterfeit phones, which often have fake IMEI numbers - that is, those already assigned to another device. Such phones hamper the the ability of law enforcement agencies to track suspects through IMEI numbers. One of the stated objectives of the CEIR is to "facilitate IMEI-based lawful interception". But a centralised database of every mobile device in the country raises…
