Ministry Of Industry Seeks E-Commerce Feedback Via Undersecretary’s Personal Email, Defying Cyber Advisory
पुस २८, २०८२ १५:४८
Kathmandu: Despite the availability of a centralized government email system, the use of personal email accounts for official work continues in Nepal. Government offices can obtain and use official email services through the Integrated Data Management Center under the National Information Technology Center. However, this system is often ignored.
It has now been found that the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has used a personal email address of an employee to collect opinions and suggestions on the draft electronic commerce guidelines.
The ministry sought feedback by bypassing the official government email mechanism, which is designed to ensure data security, confidentiality, and institutional branding. The personal email address made public for submitting suggestions is understood to belong to Vishal Sapkota, an undersecretary working in the ministry’s Consumer Protection and Coordination Branch.
This practice goes against the Cyber Security Advisory issued by the National Cyber Security Center under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The advisory clearly states that unauthorized or external email services should not be used for official communication. Despite this, the Ministry of Industry used a personal email even for an important policy-related task.
The issue is not limited to one ministry. Federal, provincial, and local government bodies have frequently been found using employees’ personal email addresses instead of official domain-based government emails for official correspondence.
Netra Prasad Subedi, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry, acknowledged the concern and expressed hope for improvement.
“It would have been better to use official government email addresses for government work. We take this as a suggestion and expect improvement. I will try to address this by coordinating with the concerned departments and individuals,” Subedi said.
पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: पुस २८, २०८२ १५:४८
