MIIT Releases New Telecom Network Security Pilot Program

On August 4, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a notice announcing a new pilot program to introduce greater network security measures in China's telecommunications sector. While key details remain undisclosed, the pilot program announcement makes reference to the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Telecommunications and Internet Industry Network Security Work (MIIT 2014: No. 368), which were first released in August 2014 and bear a strong resemblance to the CBRC guiding opinions that were released in 2014, referencing "secure and controllable" technology and a cyber review of "critical network products."

The pilot program, which is under the supervision of MIIT's Network Security Management Department, specifies that telecom carrier companies - of which there are three in China - are invited to apply. There is no explicit reference to "secure and controllable," but rather one reference to "secure and reliable" - only a minor deviation in the original Chinese - which is a term that has been used in other policy contexts by MIIT, including the IC Industry Promotion Guidelines (June 2014).

The "Implementation" section of the Pilot Program announcement states that telecommunications carriers will be responsible for submitting the "2015 Network Security Report Form" to relevant authorities in order to assess participation in the Pilot Program. Reference is made to an attachment containing the "2015 Network Security Report Form," but there are no attachments available on the notice webpage.

The contents of the "2015 Network Security Report Form" likely lay out the requirements of China's telecommunications carriers for participation in the Pilot Program, though until the "Report Form" is made available, it will be difficult to assess the impact on foreign ICT companies.

USITO is in the process of preparing an English translation of the pilot program announcement.