MEITY to block Proton Mail after TN hoax bomb threat: Reports

Block over Bomb Threat: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has written to Swiss technology company Proton over a possible notice to block its mail service in India.

The Tamil Nadu police demanded the action after a hoax bomb threat sent thirteen private schools in Chennai on February 8, as per reports. 

The decision to block ProtonMail was taken at a meeting of the 69A blocking committee on Wednesday, February 14.

A Proton spokesperson responded to reports, saying it has received the notice, while the company protested the move on grounds of being “ineffective”.

“We condemn a potential block as a misguided measure that only serves to harm ordinary people. Blocking access to Proton is an ineffective and inappropriate response to the reported threats. It will not prevent cybercriminals from sending threats with another email service and will not be effective if the perpetrators are located outside of India,” the company said.   

A Tamil Nadu police nodal officer has said that the perpetrators’ IP addresses could not be tracked, and they coud also not receive help from the Interpol. 

Proton was founded in 2014 as an end-to-end encrypted service offering mail, VPN, Calendar, Pass and Drive. It is touted to be an alternative to Google's Gmail, which offers free mail services in exchange of ad-based revenue by showing targeted ads.

The company ran into trouble with the Russian government over a similar case in the past. In 2020, the encrypted mail provider was blocked after emails sent deom Proton claiming bombs were planted in public places.

According to Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (abbreviated Roskomnadzor) the bogus emails “created a real threat of mass disturbance of public order and causing great concern among citizens and public outcry”.

In 2020, the Indian government also had a run-in with Meta-owned WhatsApp over encryption and message forwards, after cases of mob lynching rose in the country.