Communications on official matters on personal mobile devices (PQ Reply by Minister Josephine Teo)

Communications on official matters on personal mobile devices

Fourteenth Parliament of Singapore – Second Session for the Sitting on 9 May 2023

Question

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Prime Minister (a) whether civil servants and political office holders are permitted to communicate on official matters using their personal mobile devices which are not issued and managed by the Government; and (b) if so, how data security and official secrets on these personal mobile devices are managed.

Answer

Written answer by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity (for the Prime Minister)

Public officers and political office holders are allowed to communicate on work matters using their personal mobile devices to facilitate efficient coordination.

However, classified information should not be communicated using personal mobile devices. We also do not allow government services such as emails to be accessed via their personal devices.