Nandi County Senator, Samson Cherarkey has today sought a Statement in Senate on plans to install Device Management Systems (DMS), A Spyware, on phones.

The Senator wants the Senate Committee on Information, Communication and Technology to explain the rationale for the installation of DMS on phones, noting that it is likely to compromise security of phones users’ data and infringe on people’s privacy, as well as state why the Communication Authority could not engage telecommunication companies to create an Equipment Identification Register (EIR) on mobile gadgets, instead of installing the DMS, since all the required phone users’ data is available.

The Committee is also expected to indicate the measures to be put in place to curb the misuse of DMS owing to its ability to access private data including call records, messages, location, and mobile financial transactions; and finally state the role of the Anti- Counterfeit Authority in complementing Communication Authority’s fight against cloning of International Mobile Equipment Identification (IMEI).