The Jammu and Kashmir government has imposed a ban on the use of third-party platforms such as WhatsApp and Gmail for transmitting sensitive official documents. The order stated that tools like WhatsApp and Gmail are not specifically designed for managing classified or sensitive data. 

Their security protocols may fall short of the stringent standards required for safeguarding official communications.

Guidelines for officials to follow while handling official communication: 

Classified information falls under the following four categories namely, Top Secret, Secret, Confidential and Restricted.

A 'Top Secret' and 'Secret' document shall not be shared over the Internet.

The 'Top Secret' and 'Secret' information shall be shared only in a closed network with leased line connectivity where a SAG-grade encryption mechanism is deployed.'

Confidential' and 'Restricted' information can be shared on the internet through networks that have deployed commercial AES 256-bit encryption.