Airtel’s AI System Safeguards 3.5 Mn Users In Delhi

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel said that it has safeguarded more than 3.5 Mn users in Delhi from cyber threats through its advanced fraud-detection system.

Airtel’s system available for its mobile and broadband customers, scans and filters links across SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, e-mail and others. It claims that its real-time threat intelligence examines over 1 Bn URLs daily and blocks access to harmful sites in under 11 milliseconds. 

Airtel system, “instantly scans the link and if flagged as suspicious, it blocks access. The user is redirected to a warning message that reads: “Blocked! Airtel found this site dangerous!.” the company said in a statement. 

Fraudsters target users through phishing links, fake deliveries and spurious banking alerts. To curb this, Airtel’s system operates in the background and delivers fraud warnings in the user’s preferred language. 

The telecom operator claims to have blocked more than 188,000 malicious links and shielded 106 Mn users across the country. 

“By incorporating our network with an AI-driven fraud detection solution, we guarantee that our customers are protected from all new threats without requiring any action on their part,” said Nidhi Lauria, CEO – Delhi-NCR and Uttar Pradesh (West), Bharti Airtel. 

Airtel launched the spam detection solution in September last year. At the time of launch, Airtel said that its solution is free of cost and will get auto-activated for all Airtel customers without them having to raise a service request or download an app.

“Spam has become a menace for customers. We have spent the last twelve months to solve this comprehensively. Today marks a milestone as we launch the country’s first AI-powered spam free network that will shield our customers from the continuous onslaught of intrusive and unwanted communications,” said Airtel managing director and CEO Gopal Vittal. 

A couple of months back, Airtel made two upgrades in its solution – first extending spam alerts to international calls and SMSs and added 10 regional languages including Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil and Kannada among others. 

This comes at a time when Indian authorities have ramped up efforts on curbing the growing menace of spam calls. 

Doubling down on its fight against spam, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is looking to launch an updated version of its do not disturb (DND) app for smartphone users, as reported last year.

Last year, telcos blacklisted 50 entities and disconnected 2.85 Lakh mobile numbers for spamming users on the directions of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Besides, it was also reported last year that TRAI was pushing the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to take strong measures against unsolicited communications via apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram.