Months after heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, the Jammu and Kashmir General Administration Department (GAD) has introduced sweeping measures to safeguard official data. A new circular issued by the GAD has banned the use of pen drives across all government departments to prevent data breaches, malware infections, and unauthorised access. As per the circular, the order applies to every administrative wing operating from the Civil Secretariat in Jammu and Srinagar, as well as all Deputy Commissioner offices in districts.
GovDrive made mandatory for all officials
To ensure smooth workflow despite the ban, the government has mandated the use of GovDrive, a secure cloud-based storage platform. Each government employee will be allotted 50 GB of secure storage with centralised access and automatic synchronisation across devices. Detailed guidelines for using the platform have been shared in the official annexures attached to the circular.
Controlled use of pen drives only with prior approval
Meanwhile, the circular allows the use of pen drives only after formal approval from the State Informatics Officer (SIO), NIC, followed by mandatory registration. Any such devices will need to be physically submitted for reconfiguration and security authorisation before being put to use.
Restrictions on public messaging and online services
The order has also barred the use of public messaging platforms like WhatsApp and third-party online tools such as iLovePDF for handling government documents. Sensitive material such as ICT diagrams, IP details and strategic technology plans must be shared only through officially approved and secure communication channels.
Strict action for violations
The circular has warned all government officials that non-compliance will attract disciplinary action under existing rules governing IT usage, official conduct, and administrative accountability. Authorities have stressed the immediate and strict enforcement of these guidelines, citing the broader interest of safe and secure e-Governance in the Union Territory.
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