Islamabad: The federal cabinet on Tuesday (February 15) gave the nod to Pakistan’s first Cloud First Policy and Personal Data Protection Bill, news sources reported. Under the policy, all federal and provincial ministers will get central cloud data services ensuring data protection and management.
According to reports, the Federal Minister of Information Technology Syed Amin-ul-Haque stated that the programme would save government expenditure on enormous data centres while simultaneously increasing transparency and service efficiency. The government has classified data into five categories under the Cloud First Policy, based on its sensitivity and the level of security required. Among the five categories are:
Open data: Related to government transparency and work of public domain
Public data: Related to public interest requiring no authorisation and open to the public
Restricted data: Data related to public sector business, operations, and services is not sensitive
Confidential data: The data and information not intended to be published but can be accessed with specific high-level authorisation
Secret data: The data critical to the national interest, financial security or public order
According to the minister, the strategy is an essential step in enhancing and bracing the country’s current infrastructure for the digital revolution. Similarly, the bill calls for a Cloud Board, which would be led by the Secretary of Information Technology and comprised of the chief secretaries of the four provinces and two IT specialists. The board will advise and provide technical expertise to the provinces and federal ministries for setting up cloud data centres. Similarly, the Personal Data Protection Bill would secure citizens’ online data from any personal information violation.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
