J&K bans pen drives on official devices, WhatsApp & PDF apps to process official information

SRINAGAR: To protect sensitive govt information, J&K administration has banned the use of pen drives on all official devices in every department across the Union Territory. The move aims to curb security breaches, minimise the risk of malware infections, prevent unauthorised access, and uphold data sovereignty, officials said Monday.

The order, issued by commissioner secretary to govt, M Raju, also prohibits govt employees from using messaging platforms like WhatsApp or “unsecured online services like iLovePDF to process, share, or store” official or confidential material.

Failure to adhere to these instructions would invite disciplinary action, the order warned. It advised all departments to “accord top priority” to the implementation of the guidelines to ensure “secure and safe e-governance”.

In exceptional cases where operational needs justify the cause, officials may be permitted to use up to two to three pen drives per department, the order stated. The permission would be granted only after a formal request is “routed through the respective administrative head to the state informatics officer, National Informatics Centre”, it clarified. “After approval, the pen drive must be physically submitted to the respective NIC cell for reconfiguration, authorisation, and ownership registration” before use, it added.

As a secure alternative, govt departments have been encouraged to adopt GovDrive (https://govdrive.gov.in), a cloud-based, multi-tenant platform offering every govt official 50GB secure storage with centralised access and synchronisation across devices.

The order mandates that all sensitive technical information — including ICT architecture diagrams, system configurations, vulnerability assessments, IP addressing schemes, and strategic technology plans — be classified as confidential and handled exclusively through approved secure channels in accordance with MHA protocols, CERT-In directives, and departmental data classification policies.


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