New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday asked officials to carry out classified work only on a standalone computer not connected to the internet. In a document prepared by MHA's Cyber and Information Security division, personnel was suggested to use strong passwords by combining numerals, letters and special characters which would span at least 10 characters.
"Don't leave the computer unattended with sensitive information on the screen," the official communique to both Central and state government officials, accessed by ETV Bharat, read. It further suggested employees lock the computers before leaving the workplace to prevent any unauthorized access.
Classifying various categories of computer safety, the note included internet browsing, password management, removable information storage media, e-mail communication, home wi-fi network, social media usage by government officials as potential points of attack.
Referring to the use of social media by government officials, the MHA document suggested all personnel including employees, contractual staff, consultants, partners third-party staff etc who manage, operate or support information systems, facilities, or communication networks to not access social media on any official device (computer, mobile etc).
