Jammu and Kashmir govt cracks down on cybersecurity threat, bans use of pen drives on all official devices

In a bid to enhance cybersecurity, the Jammu and Kashmir government on 25 August issued an order prohibiting the use of pen drives on official devices at all administrative departments in the civil secretariat and deputy commissioners’ offices across districts. It said the failure to adherence to it would invite serious disciplinary action.

The order, released by M Raju, Commissioner Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD), also includes a prohibition on WhatsApp or unsecured online services such as iLovePDF for processing, sharing or storing official or confidential materials, which will maintain data sovereignty and avoid security breaches.