Major security review of staff access, PCs

THE PRESENT ACCESS CONTROL MECHANISM IN MINISTRIES AND DEPARTMENTS

WILL UNDERGO CHANGES, ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE WILL BE UPGRADED TO ENSURE A ‘LEAK-PROOF’ SYSTEM

NEW DELHI: The government will conduct a full security audit of all official computers and security vetting of staff of major ministries and departments in the wake of the corporate espionage scandal, sources said.

Also on the anvil is a longpending review of the Official Secrets Act in the age of the Right to Information Act.

“The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting of secretaries convened by cabinet secretary Ajit Seth on Tuesday,” said a senior government official requesting anonymity.

The official added that besides the security audit of all official computers, it has also been decided that each ministry and department will appoint a joint secretary-level officer as the departmental security officer to ensure foolproof security of official documents and computers.

The top officials also decided that the present access control mechanism in the ministries and departments will undergo sweeping changes while electronic surveillance will be upgraded to ensure a “leak-proof ” system. The measures include strengthening CCTV coverage of all key ministries. The manual of departmental security instructions prepared by the home ministry will also be issued to each ministry and department, sources said.

The decisions of the high-level meeting were part of the government’s move to tighten security of ministries and departments and to stop leakage of documents and information.

HT had reported on February 21 that following the corporate espionage scandal, the role of the Intelligence Bureau would be enhanced in the security structure of all key ministries.

The IB has initiated the process of sending officers to all key ministries to coordinate with the security staff to improve the security system.