Nairobi: Government employees have been asked to stop using personal communication devices while discharging their duties to safeguard against data breaches. The Directorate of Human Resource Management at the State Department for Public Service also cautioned staff in government offices to refrain from storing sensitive data in personal laptops to avoid incidences of unauthorized access to government records by cyber intruders.

According to Kenya News Agency, an Assistant Director in charge of Human Resource Information Systems, Dickson Kinyua, highlighted that negligence in emphasizing cybersecurity awareness at the workplace exposes information to the risks of hacking and potential theft of sensitive government data. Kinyua called for strengthened cybersecurity awareness among the workforce in the public sector by integrating technology safeguards with behavioral change to ensure the systems at the workplace are foolproof against intrusion.

He made the remarks at Telposta Towers during a daylong performance contracting workshop for sectional heads from the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications. “It is risky to carry out government work using personal laptops. In the event the laptop is stolen or accessed by a third party, sensitive data can be tampered with, resulting in dire consequences for the affected officer,” he said.

At the same time, Kinyua implored government officers to always project a positive image of their employer by conducting themselves with decorum, especially at social places and in their private engagements as well. “Mind where you eat and what you eat; whatever you drink and the location of where you take the drink matters because always remember you are the personification of government,” Kinyua said, adding that “excessive alcoholism and domestic violence are an absolute no for officers.”

Director of Human Resource Management at the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications, Juanita Ombima, stated that the workshop was meant to build the capacity of heads of sections to effectively administer performance contracting online. Public Service (Performance Management) Regulations 2021 require all government employees to have signed their PCs by August 30 of every year. The contracts are signed at three levels, between the President and Cabinet Secretaries in charge of Ministries. At the second level, CSs sign contracts with their principal secretaries and finally, the PSs sign contracts with directors, who are heads of directorates and chief executives of semi-autonomous government agencies.