Paramilitary Forces Embrace 'Sandes App' for Secure Communication in 2022
Paramilitary forces to transition to 'Sandes App' in the new year for official communication and document sharing, in response to the growing focus on data security and need for a secure messaging platform.
Para-Military forces will be making a major transition in their communication methods in the new year. From the first week of January, all paramilitary forces will be switching to 'Sandes App' for all official communication and sharing of documents. This change comes as a response to the increasing focus on data security and the need for a secure messaging platform. The decision to switch to the 'Sandes app' has been made in light of the popularity of WhatsApp for internal communication within security forces. However, with the paramount importance of data safety, it has been deemed necessary to make the transition to the 'Sandes app', which has been designed and developed in India.
In a trial run, several glitches have been rectified, and the updated version of the App is now ready for use. The 'Sandes' application, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), is an open source-based indigenous instant messaging platform that facilitates secure messaging communication in Government organisations. Its key features include end-to-end encrypted messaging, encrypted backup, and encrypted OTP service. It does not share data with third parties, and its privacy and data policy is governed by the rules and regulations of the Government of India.
The app has been integrated with NIC email, DigiLocker, and e-office, and the full features of the app are currently available only to government-verified users. Employees of Government organisations are required to contact the Nodal officer of their Ministry/Department for verification. Moving forward, all paramilitary forces, including CISF, CRPF, SSB, and ITBP, have been suggested to switch to the new app for all kinds of official communication and sharing of documents. This shift to the 'Sandes app' reflects the government's commitment to utilizing secure and indigenous technology for communication within its organizations.