SRINAGAR: Amid the threat of cyber attacks and hackers, the Jammu and Kashmir government has warned its officers against using WhatsApp, Gmail and other similar third-party platforms on the internet for sharing sensitive, secret and top-secret documents, saying the practice of sharing information using third-party tools by employees has been posing significant risks to integrity and security of the information being communicated.
In an order issued by Commissioner Secretary to Government, Sanjeev Verma, it was stated that it has come to the notice of the administration that there is an increasing trend among officers to use third-party tools such as WhatsApp, Gmail, and other similar platforms for transmitting sensitive, secret, and confidential information.
This practice, the order said, poses significant risks to the integrity and security of the information being communicated. “Using third-party communication tools can lead to potential issues, including unauthorised access, data breaches, and leaks of confidential information.
These platforms are not specifically designed to handle classified or sensitive information, and their security protocols may not meet the stringent standards required for official communications. Consequently, the use of such tools could result in severe security breaches that jeopardize the integrity of governmental operations,” it stated.
The officials were to adhere to established protocols for handling official communications, especially those secret, or confidential. They were told that confidential and restricted information could be shared on the internet through networks that have deployed commercial AES 256-bit encryption.
Also, the officials have been asked to use the government email (NIC email) facility or government instant messaging platforms (such as CDAC’s Samvad) for the communication of confidential and restricted information. Those working from home were directed to use security-hardened electronic devices connected to office servers via a VPN and Firewall setup.
