August 25, Monday: The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir has issued a fresh order prohibiting the usage of USB/Pendrives on all official devices across all Administrative Government Departments in Civil Secretariat Jammu and Srinagar, along with all district-level offices.
A segment of the report says, "This fresh order is 'to enhance the cyber security posture of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, protect sensitive government information and minimise the risks of data breaches, malware infections and unauthorised access."
Limited exceptions through formal approval
The report also mentioned that in a few exceptional cases, limited pen drives will be permitted through a formal approval process.
Departments are encouraged to adopt GOVDrive- a cloud-based, multi-tenant platform offering 50GB secure storage.
Ban on unsecured online platforms
The order also requires officials not to make use of unsecured web-based services such as WhatsApp or third-party services like iLovePDF for processing or storing official documents. All sensitive data, such as IT design diagrams, system settings, IP address schemes, and strategic security blueprints, should be classified and processed solely by means of approved and secure channels.
Non-compliance with these guidelines, the government threatened, will invite disciplinary action in accordance with IT security and administrative regulations. The administration has called upon departments to give "top priority" to putting these measures in place to ensure safe, secure, and resilient e-governance in the Union Territory.
The J&K government's prohibition on pen drives in light of the growing complexity of cyber threats is a bold move towards more stringent digital hygiene and centralised data protection.
