The Indian government has directed its employees to desist from using private messaging platforms to communicate classified information or files.

Digital assistants like Apple’s HomePod and Amazon’s Alexa too have been banned from government offices  over fears that they can record conversations.

“It has been observed that a large number of Government officials are using private messaging platforms like Whatsapp, Telegram etc. for communication of classified information. Such practice is (a) clear violation of information security instruction in manual of Departmental Security instructions (MoDSI) and National Information Security Policy Guidelines (NISPG),” a government advisory put out by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) said Wednesday, listing guidelines to be followed to “curtail the leakage of classified information and misuse of such platforms”.

Reminding officials of the existing rules, the advisory said Top Secret and Secret information shall be shared only in a “closed network with leased line connectivity where SAG grade encryption” is deployed. However, Confidential and Restricted information can be shared on the Internet through networks that have deployed commercial AES 256-bit encryption.

The use of government email facilities, set up by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), or official instant messaging platforms (such as CDAC’s Samvad, NIC’s Sandesh, etc.) have been recommended for the communication of Confidential and Restricted information.

“However, utmost care should be taken during the classification of information and before the communication of the same over the Internet. The information, which may deserve a Top Secret/Secret classification, shall not be downgraded to Confidential/Restricted for the purpose of sharing the information over the internet,” the advisory said.

In the context of the e-office system, it has been advised that proper “firewalls and white-listing of IP addresses” are deployed, while the ‘e-Office server’ may be accessed through a virtual private network (VPN) for enhanced security.

For official video conferencing purposes, government-mandated solutions offered by organisations like the CDAC, CDOT and NIC have been recommended for use.

Digital assistant devices like Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomePod and Google Home too have been banished from government offices.

“Digital Assistants (such as Alexa, Siri, etc.) should be turned off in the smartphones/watches used by the employee. Smartphones may be deposited outside the meeting room during discussion on classified issues,” the advisory said.