No Crucial Document On WhatsApp, No Use Of Smartphones In Meetings & Digital Assistant Devices in Office: Govt

NEW DELHI: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued fresh guidelines to its official regarding communication security.

The ministry has asked officials to not share top secret and secret documents over the internet. It has also advised other slew of measures for encrypted and safe communication.

A considerable number of government employees have been detected utilising private messaging systems like as Whatsapp, Telegram, and others to communicate secret information.

The ministry said this is an obvious breach of the information security requirements in the Manual of Departmental Security Instructions (MoDSI) as well as the National Information Security Policy Guidelines (NISPG). In the interest of communication security and to prevent the leakage of classified information and the misuse of such platforms following guidelines shall be followed:

– Top secret and confidential documents are not to be disseminated on the internet. According to the NISPG, Top Secret and Secret material should only be shared on a closed network with leased line connectivity with SAG grade encryption. Confidential and restricted information, on the other hand, can be shared on the internet via networks that use commercial AES 256-bit encryption.

– In the Ministry, the use of government email (NIC email) or Government Instant Messaging Platforms (such as CDAC’s Samvad, NIC’s Sandesh, etc.) for the sharing of Confidential and Restricted information is recommended.

However, extreme caution should be exercised throughout the classification of material and prior to its transmission over the internet. Information that deserves to be classified as top secret or secret will not be reduced to confidential or restricted for the purpose of disseminating it over the internet.

– It is recommended that suitable firewalls and white-listing of IP addresses be established in the context of the e-Office System. For added protection, the ‘e-Office server’ can be accessed via a Virtual Private Network (VPN). It is necessary to verify that only authorised employees have access to the e-Office System. However, only leased line closed networks and SAG grade encryption mechanisms shall be used to share Top Secret/Secret material over the e-Office system.

–     Government VC solutions given by CDAC, CDOT, and NIC may be utilised in the context of Video Conferencing (VC) for official purposes. Only authorised participants should have access to the meeting ID and password. The ‘Waiting Room’ facility and previous registration of participants may be used to ensure better security. Even said, during the VC, Top Secret and Secret material will not be released.

– Home-based officials may employ security-hardened electronic gadgets (such as laptops, Desktops, etc.) these devices could be networked devices.  A VPN and firewall setup may be used to connect such devices to the office servers. It is important to note that in a ‘work from home’ situation, Top Secret material should not be discussed.

– Digital assistants such as Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomePod, Google Home, and others are not permitted in the workplace. Furthermore, Digital Assistants (such as Alexa, Siri, and others) should be disabled on the employee’s smart phones and watches. During discussions of classified matters, smart phones should be left outside the meeting room.

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