New Delhi, February 13 The Delhi government has issued an advisory to its departments, asking them to strengthen cybersecurity measures and refrain from accessing anonymously shared links or attachments and unfamiliar websites on office computers.
The advisory, issued on Thursday by the government's information technology (IT) department, asked all department heads to ensure that they also nominate an assistant chief information security officer on priority.
The safety of the IT infrastructure is of utmost importance, and any breach may damage the reputation of the Delhi government, the advisory said, adding that all departments must ensure the adoption of proactive measures to protect against any cyber incident.
All websites or applications running in departments must possess valid security audit certificates, it said, and prohibited accessing anonymously shared links, websites, or attachments on office computers.
The advisory stated that only the National Informatics Centre (NIC) email should be used for official communication, and any third-party channel for official purposes must be avoided.
It also directed that pirated software must not be used on office computers, and antivirus packages should be downloaded to prevent any glitches or cybersecurity breaches.
Among the recommended security measures were shutting down computers when leaving the office, using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication for accessing sensitive data or information, and not sharing passwords with anyone.
The departments have also been advised to manage the inventory of IT infrastructure installed and back up data, while also ensuring that the devices, operating systems, and other installations are updated.
Previously, the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had written to the states and Union territories to take immediate measures to enhance cybersecurity.
According to the directions, the departments were to ensure MAC (media access control) binding to prevent unauthorized access, upgrade the operating system of all computers and devices to the latest version, and remove obsolete equipment from the cyber network.
It was also instructed that admin rights of the systems should be taken from the users and controlled by the chief information safety officer at the departments. All devices should be connected via a single network gateway of the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
The Delhi government has also planned a cybersecurity audit of its departments, officials said.
The IT department has requested other departments to provide details of the assistant chief information safety officers' appointments and of the measures taken by them to boost the security of the official network, they added.
