Kathmandu, July 2: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) has instructed all three tiers of government to stop using mobile applications to scan official government documents, citing concerns over digital security and data confidentiality.
In a circular issued by its Information Technology Division, the OPMCM said third-party mobile scanning applications, including CamScanner, could compromise sensitive government information because scanned documents may be transmitted to and stored on foreign servers.
The office warned that such practices could expose confidential state information, including policy decisions, classified documents and official remarks, through digital channels, posing a serious risk to national security.
The circular stressed that protecting the confidentiality and secure archiving of official documents is the responsibility of every government office and public official. It noted that the increasing use of mobile phone cameras and scanning applications for official correspondence, decision-making and record-keeping has heightened the risk of sensitive information being accessed by unauthorised individuals.
According to Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s Press and Research Advisor Dipa Dahal, scanning official documents through mobile applications leaves national security and data confidentiality vulnerable. She said most mobile scanning apps have direct access to users’ data, while there is no assurance about where the information is stored or how it is protected.
Dahal added that allowing sensitive government documents to pass through such digital platforms constitutes a serious breach of data privacy and confidentiality. She said the directive should be viewed not only as a technical safeguard but also as an important step to protect national security.
