Pakistan has successfully taken a step towards digital transformation with the approval of two landmark bills. The federal cabinet has recently approved the Cloud First Policy and the Personal Data Protection Bill in a bid to secure public and confidential data as well as minimize the costs by streamlining operations and improving efficiencies.
“After this law is approved, the data centres of federal ministries and departments will be shifted to the central ‘Cloud’ and it will help reduce government expenditure, enhance data protection and increase the efficiency of online activities and services,” Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin-ul-Haque said in a statement, according to leading media outlets.
He further added that maintaining data can cause serious financial spending for government departments and authorities. However, in some cases, it can become difficult for these departments to manage their data. Fortunately, the Cloud First Policy would help the country develop a common platform for all these government and autonomous bodies. In addition, the minister stated that many developed nations have a collective cloud service that allows their public sector departments to secure and manage the official data on a cloud computing platform.
According to the Cloud First Policy, the Government of Pakistan has around 40 divisions with over 600 affiliate departments. There is also a multitude of provincial ministries and their affiliated departments across the country.
“The country is undergoing a digital revolution and it has taken numerous initiatives for providing ICT-based solutions,” the policy stated.
Keep reading to find out more about the policy and how its approval can be beneficial for the country.
What Is the Cloud?
The cloud refers to the servers that are accessed over the internet and located in data centres all over the world rather than locally. By using the cloud, organizations and corporations can simultaneously cut costs and ensure data protection by using online software and databases instead of investing in data centres or managing physical servers.
Moreover, since cloud computing takes place on servers in a data centre instead of the user device, it allows users to access data from almost any device and location.
What is Cloud First Policy?
Many countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have cloud-first policies in place, enabling different government departments to store public and critical data on cloud computing platforms.
The adoption of this policy not only allows governments to deliver services with more efficiency and transparency but also has the potential to improve services and lower the spending of taxpayer money.
Classification of Data Under the Cloud First Policy in Pakistan
Based on its sensitivity and required level of security, the government has classified the data into five categories under the Cloud First Policy. The categories include:
Open data
The data related to government transparency as well as public domain work.
Public Data
The data related to the public interest that requires no authorisation and is open to the public.
Restricted Data
The non-sensitive data related to public sector businesses, operations, and services.
Confidential Data
The sensitive data and information not intended to be published but accessible with certain authorisation.
Secret Data
The data critical to the national interest, financial security, and public order.
According to the reports published in the leading English dailies, the Cloud First Policy also highlighted the need to establish a “Cloud Board.”
“The Cloud Board will consist of secretary IT as chairman, chief secretaries of the four provinces and two IT experts,” the federal minister for information technology and telecommunication reportedly added. “The Cloud Office will oversee the accreditation, quality, security and departmental IT affairs of Cloud Service Providers.”
He said that federal ministries, departments, and autonomous bodies have been operating their own data centres, which posed a burden on the national treasury. However, these authorities and departments will now be able to utilize a shared platform that is not only more secure but also costs substantially less.
Meanwhile, the Personal Data Protection Bill approved by the federal cabinet will safeguard online data and personal information of ordinary citizens as well as the business community. The bill also plays a crucial role in the digital transformation of the country by governing the collection, processing, use, and disclosure of personal data.
This is not the first time the government has taken a step to digitally empower the country. You can read more about the “Digital Pakistan Campaign” initiative in our comprehensive guide on the topic.
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