Aiming to plug leakage of classified information and personnel falling prey to counterintelligence operations of hostile countries and non-state inimical groups, the CRPF has barred its personnel, civilian employees, contractors and visitors from using smartphones in office spaces handling classified information like Operations Room and Conference Halls.
The 14-page document for smartphone usage on Friday also provided guidelines for using social media in order to secure classified data and information.
The high sensitivity offices encapsulate places designated or accredited for the processing, handling or discussion of classified information in real time like conference hall and Operations rooms and smartphones that store and record data are now prohibited for smartphone usage. If brought to the office, such devices should be kept at specified counters.
Likewise, medium sensitivity offices include operational active duty and specific areas of facility having direct handling of confidential documents like specific branches of administrative block, field duty, operations and hospitals. In such offices, smartphones will be allowed subject to approval of the Head of Office but mobile camera or recorder will be strictly prohibited.
Low sensitivity offices that do not engage in active duty or handle classified documents like Lines will be open to smartphones usage without any restriction.
“The fundamental principles of information security are confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Every element of an information security program and every security control put in place by an entity should be designed to achieve one or more of these principles. Therefore, it is important to consider the acceptable and not acceptable use of smartphones in an organisation,” reads the copy of the order issued by the Administrative Directorate of the Central Reserve Police Force.
Excessive unrestricted usage can lead to breach of security and can compromise national security, it said.
The order clearly defined the smartphone as devices that perform many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touch screen, interface, camera, Internet access and an operating system capable of running downloaded applications.
“This policy prescribes the guidance and procedures for smartphone restriction within CRPF,” the order said, adding signage depicting the category of office will be put up.
Likewise, the guidelines for social media usage seeks to sensitise the personnel against unintentionally putting classified information in the public domain.
“Government officials using various social platforms are also vulnerable to being counterintelligence (CI) targets of State agencies as well as radical non-state inimical groups. Social media platforms are being used to ferret information from unsuspecting users and recruit gullible officials to later exploit them for subversion,” it added in justification for social media guidelines.