SRINAGAR: In a significant push to secure the digital ecosystem across government departments, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has issued a comprehensive circular directing all Administrative Departments, Heads of Departments (HoDs), and Subordinate Offices to adopt standard cybersecurity practices, discontinue unauthorised digital platforms, and ensure strict compliance with IT governance protocols.
According to the circular issued by the General Administration Department, the directive follows extensive deliberations chaired by the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir.
The government has ordered the immediate deactivation of all private departmental websites operating on domains such as “.com”, “.org”, or “.net”. All government websites must now be hosted exclusively on official domains like “.gov.in” or “.jk.gov.in”. Future proposals for new websites must be routed through the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and approved by the IT Department.
The order further mandates the exclusive use of official NIC email IDs for all government communication. Emails sent from non-official domains such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Rediffmail will be treated as unofficial and may not be acted upon.
A comprehensive audit of IT infrastructure has also been ordered. Designated Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and Information Security Officers (ISOs) will carry out department-wide audits. These will include inventories of hardware and software, verification of licensed systems, firewall and antivirus status, and network security configurations. A uniform reporting format will be provided by the IT Department.
NIC has been assigned the task of organising training sessions on cyber hygiene and threat response for departmental IT personnel. These sessions will cover topics such as cyber safety, configuration of email systems, incident reporting, and guidelines from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
The circular also underlines that all IT hardware and software procurement must conform to the minimum technical standards notified by the IT Department. The use of pirated or outdated software is strictly prohibited.
All departments are required to submit detailed compliance reports within 15 days. Failure to comply will attract disciplinary action under the relevant administrative and IT conduct rules.
These directives mark a key step towards a secure, transparent, and policy-compliant e-governance framework in Jammu and Kashmir. (JKNS)
