Nepal Government Bans Mobile App Scanning For Official Documents Citing Cyber Risks
2nd July 2026, Kathmandu
PM Office Directs Government Agencies to Stop Scanning Documents via Mobile Apps Citing Cyber Risks
The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) has issued a strict directive banning all government bodies from using third-party mobile applications to scan official state documents.
Nepal Government Bans Mobile App
In a circular issued to federal, provincial, and local government layers, the OPMCM’s Information Technology section emphasized that this step is a critical baseline measure to safeguard digital sovereignty and data privacy.
The Rising Threat of Third-Party Scanning Tools
According to IT specialists within the Prime Minister’s Office, the rapid adoption of free, commercially available mobile scanning applications presents severe data exfiltration vulnerabilities.
[Official Document] ──> [Mobile Scanning App] ──> [Foreign Servers / Third-Party Cloud]
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When government employees use unauthorized mobile apps to digitize papers, the scanned files and embedded metadata are frequently transmitted to and hosted on external, offshore servers.
The rising trend of using mobile cameras to scan official correspondence, administrative decisions, and sensitive internal records increases the risk of data leaks to unauthorized foreign entities.
National Security and Minimal Security Standards
The Prime Minister’s Office clarified that this directive is far more than a routine technical guideline it is an absolute necessity for national security. The digital exposure of state documents constitutes a severe breach of data privacy protocols.
Key Directive Takeaway: Moving forward, all three tiers of government must transition exclusively to air-gapped, secure institutional scanners that process and store information locally on safe, sovereign government networks.
By eliminating commercial mobile scanning platforms from daily workflows, the government aims to enforce stricter compliance with national cybersecurity standards and build a safer digital ecosystem across public institutions.
For more: Nepal Government Bans Mobile App
