HONG KONG — The Hong Kong administration is implementing restrictions for the majority of civil servants regarding the use of popular applications such as WhatsApp, WeChat, and Google Drive on their work systems, citing potential security threats.

The new IT security guidelines released by the Digital Policy Office have faced considerable criticism from government employees who find these measures to be an additional inconvenience. Civil servants will still be permitted to access these applications on their personal devices while at work, and may request exceptions to this policy if they get approval from their supervisors.

Experts in information technology note that various organizations have started to enforce similar policies as a response to the growing risks associated with data breaches and cybersecurity issues.

In a radio interview on Tuesday, Sun Dong, the Secretary for Innovation, Technology, and Industry, emphasized the necessity of these restrictions, stating that hacking incidents have escalated. He mentioned that both the U.S. and Chinese governments have implemented strict protocols for their internal networks as well.

A civil servant, referred to as Lee for confidentiality reasons, indicated that her department frequently utilizes cloud storage solutions to share significant files with external vendors.

Francis Fong, the honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, elaborated that officials informed him that the intent behind this policy is to block malware from circumventing the government’s firewall through encrypted communication. He also pointed out that the measures could mitigate risks associated with data leaks.

Anthony Lai, the director of VX Research Limited, a cybersecurity company operating in both Hong Kong and Britain, supported the government’s decision, attributing it to the low level of cybersecurity awareness among some personnel and the insufficient internal monitoring systems.

Concerns were heightened earlier in the year when security breaches at several Hong Kong governmental departments led to the exposure of personal information belonging to tens of thousands of individuals.