Srinagar: Underlining that the unauthorized access to sensitive data is a breach of extant IT rules, the government on Monday to ensure that officers and officials, who have been transferred out of secretariat, or left their respective departments and organization and no longer need access to e-office, shall not get a privilege of any access to their previous accounts.
Government of Jammu and Kashmir has rolled out implementation of e-office across all offices for efficient conduct of government business.
“With a view to maintaining the security and confidentiality of sensitive official information, and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations as enshrined in the IT Act of 2000 read with Information Technology Security Guidelines notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India under the said Act, it has been fest necessary to prohibit unauthorized personnel from accessing data from a office files and references,” reads a circular issued by the administration.
The unauthorized access includes, but is not limited to, viewing, copying, sharing or disseminating such data without proper clearance, it noted.
The unauthorized access to sensitive data, it said, is a breach of extant IT rules and is treated as penal offence under chapter XI of the IT Act 2000.
Any instance of unauthorized access shall, therefore, be liable for disciplinary as well as penal action under the relevant provisions of law, the circular, a copy of which lies with GNS, reads.
“In view of the above, all officers/officials working on the e-office platform are, as such, strictly prohibited from accessing any sensitive data for which they do not have explicit authorization from the designated/competent authority, Departments are thus, impressed upon to conduct audit trails to determine sensitive events and pattern analysis to indicate possible fraudulent use or unauthorized access to the system data and shall proceed in terms of extant legal provisions against such breach of access.”
All Departments are further advised to ensure that officers and officials, who have been transferred out of secretariat, or left their respective departments and organization and no longer need access to e-office, shall not get a privilege of any access to their previous accounts.
“To ensure this, all Departments shall notify Information Technology Department about as such personnel within a day.”
The Information Technology Department shall immediately proceed to bar such officers and officials from accessing e-office from their previous offices/place of posting in the Secretariat and/or other organizations, it said.
“Further, all Departments shall designate a Nodal officer for liaisoning with the Information Technology Department, in future, with regard to such officers/officials whose accounts need to be closed on account of their transfer or superannuation etc, so that their accounts are closed/suspended on time Information Technology Department shall further institute procedures for Users Accounts Management, Data Resource Protection and Sensitive System Protection in line with the said Act within a week positively,” it said, adding, “It shall also submit monthly reports regarding unauthorized access, if any, to GAD.”

KR Desk