DistantNews
Support us
PNG's Digital Security and Public Service Under Fire
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea /Technology

PNG's Digital Security and Public Service Under Fire

From Post-Courier · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Papua New Guinea's government appears to be storing sensitive data onshore and ignoring cloud storage experts, while many government departments use personal Gmail accounts, raising national security concerns.
  • The article questions the Department of ICT's role in enforcing the use of official "gov.pg" domain names and highlights the difficulty in auditing Gmail accounts used by officials.
  • It also touches on the country's past attempts to rename itself and the public service's disciplinary issues, suggesting independent financial inspectors and stricter penalties for corruption.

Papua New Guinea's government faces scrutiny over its data storage practices, with a strong suggestion that it is ignoring established cloud storage experts like Meta, Google, and Amazon. The article points out the apparent contradiction of storing data onshore while many government officials use personal Gmail accounts, a practice deemed a national security risk.

Top Secret? For a country that seems determined to store all its data onshore and ignore the acknowledged experts in Cloud storage like Meta, Google and Amazon.

— anonymousCritique of the government's data storage policy.

The author questions the effectiveness of the Department of ICT in enforcing the use of official "gov.pg" domain names across all government departments. The article implies that the use of Gmail by officials offers an impenetrable audit trail, which is seen as a convenient loophole for "crooks."

Surely that cannot be acceptable? Isn’t that what the Department of ICT is for? What are they doing to enforce the use of “gov.pg” in all departments.

— anonymousQuestioning the role of the Department of ICT.

Beyond digital security, the piece reflects on the country's identity, recalling a past failed attempt by former leader Somare to rename the nation through a competition that devolved into farce. It also criticizes the public service's disciplinary system, describing it as a "rigged game" where disciplinary committees, composed of peers, are reluctant to punish offending officers. The article calls for independent finance inspectors and severe penalties, including forfeiture of entitlements and dismissal, to curb corruption and ensure public servants truly serve the people.

The audit trail through gmail would be impenetrable. Just the way the crooks like it!

— anonymousCommentary on the security implications of using Gmail for government business.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Post-Courier in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog