The state wants to establish total control: expert on the introduction of the IMEI code system for mobile phones in Armenia
26.06.2026,
10:56
The state wants to establish total control over phones – this is how Artur Papyan, co-founder of CyberHUB-AM and information security expert, commented on the amendments to the Law on Electronic Communications approved by the Armenian government yesterday, which provide for the introduction of a unified system for registering and monitoring IMEI codes for mobile phones.
YEREVAN, June 26. /ARKA/. The state wants to establish total control over phones – this is how Artur Papyan, co-founder of CyberHUB-AM and information security expert, commented on the amendments to the Law on Electronic Communications approved by the Armenian government yesterday, which provide for the introduction of a unified system for registering and monitoring IMEI codes for mobile phones.
"The government has approved a bill providing for the creation of a unified IMEI code database. At first glance, this sounds technical and innocuous: 'fighting the shadow economy,' 'preventing phone theft.' But let's look at what is actually being proposed," Papyan wrote on his social media.
According to him, a huge database will be created that will link citizens' passports and personal data, their phones' IMEI codes, as well as all SIM and eSIM cards. "This isn't just a tax tool; it will give the state the ability to see at any time who is connecting to the network, from what device, and when," he notes.
Furthermore, according to the expert, if this database, which contains information on 2.5 million users, goes down for even a few minutes, operators will be forced to disconnect communications. "And we know how government databases work," he said, recalling the situation with the first-grader registration system, which was supposed to serve only about 20,000 parents at a time this week, but simply didn't work," Papyan noted.
The expert pointed out that the project contains a dangerous clause: the administrator will be able to use this database's data to provide "other digital services" to state and municipal agencies, as well as even private companies. In other words, data collected supposedly to "fight smuggling" could be used tomorrow for completely different, unknown purposes.
"Concentrating data on all the phones and citizens of the country in one place is any cybercriminal's dream. If this database is hacked (and absolutely invulnerable systems do not exist), the security of each and every one of us will be at risk. And most importantly, the bill's authors claim it will help combat theft. But let's be honest.
Who among you or anyone you know has been in this situation: your phone was stolen, you contacted the police with the phone's box and IMEI number, but still received no help? Meanwhile, my gut tells me, if these were protesters or journalists critical of the government, their location via IMEI would be determined in five minutes, and a "masked show" would be staged, Papyan concluded. Commenting on Papyan's post, RA Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan stated that if the dpHub and CyberHub teams deem it appropriate, he could approach Babken Tunyan (Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs – ed.) with a request to organize a working discussion on the aforementioned topic next week in the National Assembly, in the committee he chairs.
"If my proposal is acceptable, it would also be appropriate to invite colleagues from the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE) Foundation and the State Revenue Committee. For my part, I will, of course, also participate as a representative of the Ministry," Hayrapetyan said.
About the draft law
The document stipulates that mobile operators must verify IMEI codes when providing communications services.
Furthermore, citizens importing a mobile phone manufactured in the current or previous year into Armenia will be required to register the device by paying a state fee of 3,000 drams. Registration of older phones will be free.
"The government has approved a bill providing for the creation of a unified IMEI code database. At first glance, this sounds technical and innocuous: 'fighting the shadow economy,' 'preventing phone theft.' But let's look at what is actually being proposed," Papyan wrote on his social media.
According to him, a huge database will be created that will link citizens' passports and personal data, their phones' IMEI codes, as well as all SIM and eSIM cards. "This isn't just a tax tool; it will give the state the ability to see at any time who is connecting to the network, from what device, and when," he notes.
Furthermore, according to the expert, if this database, which contains information on 2.5 million users, goes down for even a few minutes, operators will be forced to disconnect communications. "And we know how government databases work," he said, recalling the situation with the first-grader registration system, which was supposed to serve only about 20,000 parents at a time this week, but simply didn't work," Papyan noted.
The expert pointed out that the project contains a dangerous clause: the administrator will be able to use this database's data to provide "other digital services" to state and municipal agencies, as well as even private companies. In other words, data collected supposedly to "fight smuggling" could be used tomorrow for completely different, unknown purposes.
"Concentrating data on all the phones and citizens of the country in one place is any cybercriminal's dream. If this database is hacked (and absolutely invulnerable systems do not exist), the security of each and every one of us will be at risk. And most importantly, the bill's authors claim it will help combat theft. But let's be honest.
Who among you or anyone you know has been in this situation: your phone was stolen, you contacted the police with the phone's box and IMEI number, but still received no help? Meanwhile, my gut tells me, if these were protesters or journalists critical of the government, their location via IMEI would be determined in five minutes, and a "masked show" would be staged, Papyan concluded. Commenting on Papyan's post, RA Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan stated that if the dpHub and CyberHub teams deem it appropriate, he could approach Babken Tunyan (Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs – ed.) with a request to organize a working discussion on the aforementioned topic next week in the National Assembly, in the committee he chairs.
"If my proposal is acceptable, it would also be appropriate to invite colleagues from the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE) Foundation and the State Revenue Committee. For my part, I will, of course, also participate as a representative of the Ministry," Hayrapetyan said.
About the draft law
The document stipulates that mobile operators must verify IMEI codes when providing communications services.
Furthermore, citizens importing a mobile phone manufactured in the current or previous year into Armenia will be required to register the device by paying a state fee of 3,000 drams. Registration of older phones will be free.