ibn sultan
Srinagar, Aug 25: The government of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday issued an order, banning use of Pen drives on official devices across all Administrative Government Departments in Civil Secretariat Jammu and Srinagar and Deputy Commissioner Offices in all districts to protect sensitive government information, and minimize the risks of data breaches, malware infections, and unauthorized access.
According to an official order by General Administration Department, “To enhance the cyber security posture of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, protect sensitive government information, and minimize the risks of data breaches, malware infections, and unauthorized access, it has been decided to prohibit the use of Pen drives on official devices across all Administrative Government Departments in Civil Secretariat Jammu and Srinagar, Deputy Commissioner Offices in all districts.”
However, it added that in exceptional cases where operational needs justify their use, controlled whitelisting may be permitted for up to 2–3 Pen drives per Department, upon formal request routed through the respective administrative head to the State Informatics Officer (SIO), National Informatics Centre. After approval, Pen Drives must be physically submitted to respective NIC cell for reconfiguration, audit and control, and ownership registration prior to usage.
As a secure alternative, Departments are strongly encouraged to adopt (https://govdrive.gov.in) GovDrive—a cloud-based, multi-tenant platform offering every Government official 50 GB of secure storage with centralized access and synchronization across devices, details of which are provided in Annexures I & II along with the user manual, it reads.
As per the order, the use of public messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or unsecured online services like WeTransfer for propagation, sharing, and circulation of confidential information is strictly prohibited.
This includes circulation of official documents, emails, all sensitive technical information including ICT architecture diagrams, system configuration, vulnerability reports, and security audit reports. Instead, Departments are strongly advised to use GovDrive, e-Office, and email for exchange of official documents.
All approved secure channels in accordance with Information Security Best Practices by MHA, CERT-In directives, and departmental data classification policies.
It warned that failure to adhere to these instructions shall be viewed seriously and may invite disciplinary action under relevant rules governing web conduct, IT usage and administrative behaviour.
It further stated that these directions are intended to safeguard official digital assets and prevent any compromise of sensitive data. All Departments are advised to accord top priority to the implementation of these guidelines in the interest of the security of the government’s digital ecosystem.
