Govt bans personal email accounts for official use

The federal government has banned the use of private and personal email services for official communication by all public sector institutions, including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in a bid to enhance data security and prevent the leakage of sensitive information.

A formal circular has been sent in this regard, citing a previous directive from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT).

The notification requires all government departments to stop using non-official email services for any kind of official communication.

According to the MoITT letter quoted in the circular, some government officials and institutions were still using private email services like Hotmail, Yahoo, and Gmail to send official documents.

This, according to the MoITT, is a "serious threat" to the country's national security, data confidentiality, and information integrity.

The letter also pointed out that the National Telecommunication and Information Technology Security Board (NTISB) has repeatedly warned that private email platforms are not part of the secure digital infrastructure of the government and are extremely susceptible to cyber attacks, data leaks, and unauthorized access.

The circular explicitly states that all government correspondence, especially formal documents, reports, and inter-departmental communications, must be conducted only through registered government email accounts.

All administrative secretaries and heads of departments have been asked to strictly adhere to the new guidelines and immediately circulate the directive to their subordinate offices.

The government has also made it clear that in case of any security breach due to communication through unauthorized or private email platforms, the concerned officer or institution will be held responsible.