Officials must end free email

NEW RULING

Officials must end free email

In its final meeting before last month's elections, the outgoing Cabinet passed a resolution ordering all civil servants to cease the use of free email accounts on national security grounds and for the development of a centralised email system to augment, rather than replace, existing government email accounts.

On December 18, the Cabinet acknowledged a report by the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission regarding the dangers to national security posed by civil servants using free email accounts, especially those from overseas, as most had signed up clicking on the end user licence agreement without being aware of its implications.

The OPDC was concerned that many providers reserved the right to create backups of emails for continuity reasons and had access to emails. They reasoned it was detrimental to the Government as it allowed foreign interests to read and analyse Thai government data for various purposes. It also allowed foreigners to analyse traffic data and conduct espionage on secret documents.

The Cabinet resolution calls for a national government email service to be created for civil servants. A "competent" government agency, the Government IT Services (GITS) (an organisation set up by Nectec) was told to come up with a plan and budget. Responsibility for the project was given to the OPDC, the Office of the Prime Minister's Office, and the National Intelligence Agency to implement.

The Cabinet also ordered all civil servants to cease the use of free email accounts within one year. Senior civil servants have three months to comply.