Chief Secretary assesses cyber security framework implementation across J&K

Jammu, Dec 19: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress achieved under the Cyber Security Action Plan being implemented across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Administrative Secretaries of all departments, Inspector General of Police (Crime), Commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations, Deputy Director General, NIC, Chief Executive Officer, JaKeGA, and other senior officers concerned.
At the outset, the Chief Secretary undertook a comprehensive review of the initiatives launched to strengthen the cyber security architecture of the UT. He assessed the status of decommissioning of redundant government websites and sought updates on the security audit of departmental portals, installation of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solutions in the offices of Heads of Departments, besides other measures aimed at safeguarding government digital infrastructure against emerging cyber threats.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the progress of key projects, including augmentation of the State Data Centre (SDC), operationalization of a Mini Security Operations Centre (SOC), adoption of official government e-mail IDs by employees, expansion of Government Drive usage, and capacity-building initiatives undertaken to promote cyber hygiene across departments.
Stressing the need for a holistic and robust protection mechanism for IT assets, the Chief Secretary directed that all concerned Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) to complete the inventorization of IT assets on the e-SAM portal within the next one month to strengthen monitoring and security of government assets.
He further instructed the NIC to prepare a comprehensive action plan within a month for augmenting the capacity of the State Data Centre and implementing additional cyber security measures to make the system foolproof across J&K.
Earlier the IGP, Crime, Sujit Singh apprised the meeting about a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of cyber forensic capabilities at CICE, J&K. He added that the process involves a detailed examination of existing systems, emerging requirements and future-ready initiatives aimed at strengthening cyber forensic infrastructure across the UT.
Singh further apprised that a structured three-phase approach has been adopted for this purpose. The first phase focuses on a thorough evaluation of technical specifications and proposed tools required for the establishment of CICE and Cyber Police Stations.
The second phase involves examination of these tools in the context of emerging cyber threats such as deep fakes, encrypted mobile communications and data breaches. The third phase entails comparative analysis and consultations regarding the latest tools available in the market.
During the meeting, Secretary, Information Technology Department, Dr. Piyush Singla, gave detailed overview of the implementation of cyber security plan in J&K. He informed that the security audit of departmental websites has been completed, and 35 redundant websites have been decommissioned after due consultation with the concerned departments.
He further apprised that EDR and UEM solutions have been successfully deployed across the Civil Secretariat complexes in Jammu and Srinagar, covering nearly 5,100 devices, with an additional 15,000 devices in HoD offices scheduled to be secured by January 2026.
The meeting was also informed that 28 departments have initiated the census of IT assets following nomination of users, while 14 departments have been asked to expedite the process. With regard to the adoption of official government e-mail IDs, it was informed that the user base has reached 1.81 lakh, with about 35,000 users added since May 2025, and 3,500 requests processed since the last review meeting.
Other cyber security initiatives discussed included deployment of 19 honey pots by the department, with CERT-In scheduled to provide training for their effective usage. It was also revealed that the white listing of USB/pen drives remains limited to 30 cases, while the number of Government Drive users has increased to 318 across departments.
CEO, JaKeGA, Mahima Madan, briefed the meeting on key interventions undertaken by the agency, including migration of select applications to the national MeghRaj Cloud, augmentation of the State Data Centre, operationalization of the Mini SOC at Jammu, which is planned to be upgraded into a full-fledged SOCand the phased migration of government websites from IPv4 to IPv6 by the end of the current year.
Emphasizing a proactive and coordinated approach to cyber security, the Chief Secretary underscored that robust digital safety mechanisms are vital for ensuring efficiency, transparency, and reliability in governance. He directed all departments to work in close coordination with the IT Department, plug existing gaps, adopt best cyber security practices, and complete all pending tasks within the stipulated timelines.