Kerala Police discontinues 25-year-old communication system, shifts to secure digital platform

Kozhikode: Internal communication within the Kerala Police is set to become more secure, with the department discontinuing its 25-year-old Communication Backbone (COB) system.

All official communication will now take place exclusively through the Home Department's Internal Administrative Processing System (IAPS), designed by the IT Mission for the department.

The new platform allows messages to reach individual officers directly and is expected to make communication more efficient and confidential, police sources said.

How COB worked

Under the COB system, the Telecommunications Wing printed confidential information and communications exchanged between offices and heads of offices under the Home Department before forwarding them to the respective departments or officials.

This process carried a greater risk of compromising the confidentiality of sensitive information.

How IAPS works

Officers can log in to the new platform using their username, password and employee's Permanent Employee Number (PEN). Each officer will have an individual account, through which they can send and receive official messages.

The platform must also be used to communicate information relating to VVIP visits.

The practice of delivering messages to offices through police personnel (messengers) from Armed Reserve (AR) camps will also be discontinued.

Henceforth, messengers will be used only to deliver documents and files that require physical transfer, including service books and case diaries.