Decision No. 40/2006/QĐ-BBCVT Issuing the Regulation on Protecting State Secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications

DECISION OF THE MINISTER MINISTRY OF POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Issuing the Regulation on Protecting State Secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications

THE MINISTER MINISTRY OF POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets dated December 28, 2000;

Pursuant to Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP dated March 28, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Protecting State Secrets;

Pursuant to Decree No. 90/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 11, 2002 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications;

Based on the proposal of the Director of the Office and the Head of the Legal Department,

DECISION:

Article 1. This Decision attaches the "Regulation on Protecting State Secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications."

12/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 19, 2025 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and EnvironmentThis Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and shall replace Decision No. 348/QĐ-BVBĐ dated May 6, 1994 of the General Postmaster of the General Post Office.

Article 3. The Director of the Office, the Inspectorate Director, Department Heads, Bureau Chiefs, Heads of subordinate agencies and organizations under the Ministry, and related individuals and entities are responsible for implementing this Decision./.

 

REGULATIONS

Protecting State Secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications

(Issued together with Decision No. 40/2006/QĐ-BBCVT

dated September 11, 2006 of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications)

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Regulation provides for the protection of state secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

Article 2. Applicability

This Regulation applies to agencies, units, civil servants within the management scope of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications; organizations and individuals related to the exploitation and use of state secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

Article 3. State Secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications

State secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications are defined in Decision No. 182/2006/QĐ-TTg dated August 9, 2006 of the Prime Minister regarding the list of top-secret state secrets in the postal and telecommunications sector and information technology; Decision No. 961/QĐ-BCA(A11) dated August 22, 2006 of the Minister of Public Security regarding the list of secret state secrets in the postal and telecommunications sector and information technology; documents and objects carrying state secrets sent to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications from central and local agencies (hereinafter referred to as "state secrets").

Article 4. Protection of State Secrets in Communication Information

1. Unencrypted contents of state secrets may not be transmitted via telecommunication means and computers (telephones, radio transmitters, telegrams, faxes, computer networks, Internet, other communication means). Encryption of state secret contents must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on cryptographic security.

2. Providing information within the scope of state secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to organizations and individuals generally, publishing agencies, media outlets, and other public information bodies both domestically and internationally must be approved by the competent authority as stipulated in Articles 17 and 18 of this Regulation.

3. Transporting classified documents must ensure safety and confidentiality as provided for in Article 9 of this Regulation.

Article 5. Prohibited Acts

1. Collecting, leaking, losing, appropriating, buying, selling, or illegally destroying classified documents as defined in Article 3 of this Regulation.

2. Independently researching, producing, and using encryption to conduct activities that infringe upon state secrets.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 6. Amending and Supplementing the List of State Secrets

1. During implementation, if classified materials outside the existing list of state secrets arise or if changes to the level of classification, declassification are required, the head of the relevant agency or unit shall be responsible for proposing and reporting to the Minister.

2. Annually in the first quarter, the Director of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Office shall be responsible for assisting the Minister in compiling and proposing amendments and supplements to the list of state secrets to be submitted to the Ministry of Public Security or to the Prime Minister for decision; the publication or non-publication of the list of state secrets of the Posts and Telecommunications sector.

Article 7. Drafting, Printing, Copying, Photographing Classified Materials confidential document

1. The head of the agency or unit shall be responsible for ensuring confidentiality during the drafting, submission, printing, copying, and photographing of classified materials.

2. When drafting, printing, copying, or photographing classified materials, the following regulations must be adhered to:

a) It must be conducted in a place that ensures confidentiality and safety;

b) Computers connected to the Internet or internal networks may not be used for drafting, printing, copying, or photographing classified materials;

c) Passwords must be used when drafting and storing draft classified materials on computers;

d) Drafts of classified materials must be numbered, paginated, marked with the name of the drafter, printer, copier, and may not be taken out of designated locations; rough drafts that need to be destroyed must be immediately destroyed on-site;

e) The quantity of classified materials to be printed or copied for external distribution must be determined by the authorized head of the agency or unit through a written decision; those performing the printing or copying must only print or copy the specified quantity, and upon completion, they must check and immediately destroy any excess copies and defective prints;

f) For classified materials received from other agencies, the Minister or the person authorized to handle them will decide the number of copies;

g) State secrets copied onto tapes, floppy disks, photographic film, or external storage devices via USB ports must be sealed, accompanied by a document clearly stating the name of the item stored, the name of the copier, and stamped with the classification level on this document.

Article 8. Determining and Stamping Classification Levels

1. When drafting documents containing state secrets, the drafter or agency must propose the classification level of the material based on the provisions of Article 3 of this Regulation; the signatory of the document is responsible for deciding the stamping of the classification level and the circulation scope of the classified material.

2. For objects carrying state secrets, there must be a document clearly stating the name of the object accompanying it and stamped with the classification level on this document.

3. The form and size of stamps indicating the classification levels "Top Secret," "Secret," "Confidential," "For Recovery," "Only Named Persons May Open" shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Public Security.

4. The classification level stamp shall be placed below the document's identification number; the recovery stamp shall be placed below the classification level stamp; the ink used for all types of stamps shall be bright red.

Article 9. Transporting and Handing Over Classified Materials

1. Direct transportation and handover of classified materials between domestic agencies, units, and individuals shall be carried out by personnel engaged in security work or dedicated liaison forces of the agencies or units.

2. Transportation and handover of classified materials with Vietnamese state agencies or organizations abroad shall be conducted by diplomatic liaison forces under strict confidentiality and sealing principles.

3. Agencies, units, or individuals tasked with transporting classified materials must have secure transportation plans and means.

4. All handovers of classified materials among stages (drafting, typing, printing, archiving, security department, liaison forces, responsible persons for handling, storage, use, etc.) must be directly conducted at the archive or security department of the unit, recorded in a logbook with signatures from both parties, and absolute security must be ensured.

5. The sending and receiving locations of classified materials must cooperate in checking and comparing to promptly identify and address any errors or losses.

6. Agencies or units under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications with specialized responsibilities for transporting and handing over classified materials and items carrying state secrets must establish specific regulations to ensure confidentiality and security during transportation.

Article 10. Sending Confidential Documents

1. The office or the confidentiality department of the agency or unit drafting and managing confidential documents shall be responsible for entering the documents into the logbook, preparing the sending form, and packaging according to regulations when sending confidential documents.

2. Entering the logbook: Confidential documents must be entered into the "Outgoing Confidential Documents Logbook" before being sent out. All columns and items must be filled in completely, including serial number, date, place of receipt, summary of content, level of confidentiality, urgency level, recipient (signing name and full name). In cases where Top Secret documents are sent, the summary of content column should not be filled in.

3. Preparing the sending form: Confidential documents sent out must be accompanied by a sending form placed together with the confidential documents in the envelope. The sending form must clearly indicate the sender, form number, place of receipt, code number of each type of document sent, and stamp the level of confidentiality and urgency at the top right corner of the form.

4. Packaging: Confidential documents sent out must not be mixed in the same envelope with regular documents. The envelope paper must be durable, difficult to tear, water-resistant, and opaque. Fold the envelope diagonally, and ensure the glue is strong and difficult to peel off.

5. For "Top Secret" and "Topmost Secret" documents, they must be sent in two nested envelopes:

a) The inner envelope must clearly indicate the number and code of the document, the recipient's name, and stamp "Topmost Secret" or "Top Secret"; if the document is specifically for a responsible person to handle, stamp "Only named person may open".

b) The outer envelope must bear a symbol indicating the level of confidentiality. Documents classified as "Top Secret" must be stamped with the letter "B" (in uppercase, bold); documents classified as "Topmost Secret" must be stamped with the letter "A" (in uppercase, bold).

6. For "Secret" level documents, only one envelope is required, marked like regular documents and stamped with the letter "C" (in uppercase, bold).

Article 11. Receiving Confidential Documents

1. Confidential documents sent from the Party, Government, Ministries, sectors at the central and local levels, regardless of time and method, must go through the office or the confidentiality department of the agency or unit, enter them into the "Incoming Confidential Documents Logbook" for tracking, and transfer them to the responsible person for handling according to Articles 9 and 10 of this Regulation.

2. If the inner envelope of incoming confidential documents bears the stamp "Only named person may open," the office or the confidentiality department of the agency or unit must enter it into the logbook based on the code number indicated on the outer envelope and immediately transfer it to the person named on the envelope.

3. If confidential documents received have not been handled according to the security procedures, the office or the confidentiality department of the agency or unit must transfer them to the responsible person for handling, and simultaneously inform the sender to learn from the experience. If signs of tampering, opening, tearing, swapping, loss, or damage of the documents are discovered, the recipient must immediately report to the head of the agency or unit to take timely measures.

Article 12. Retrieving Confidential Documents

For documents bearing the stamp "To be retrieved," the office or the confidentiality department of the agency or unit must monitor, retrieve, or return them to the sender within the specified period and quantity. When receiving and returning documents, they must check, reconcile, record in the logbook, and ensure that the documents are not lost.

Article 13. Taking Confidential Documents Outside the Agency

1. Taking confidential documents for domestic work trips is decided by the head of the unit directly managing the confidential documents.

2. Taking confidential documents abroad requires the head of the unit directly managing the staff to propose approval by the Minister. The proposal must specify the person taking the confidential documents abroad, the quantity, content of the confidential documents to be taken, scope, and purpose of use.

3. The person taking confidential documents outside the agency must be responsible for ensuring their safety during the period outside the agency; they must not print, copy, or provide information to others without authorization. Upon completion of the task, they must hand over all confidential documents taken outside to the office or the confidentiality department of the agency or unit managing those documents.

Article 14. Storage, preservation, and statistics of classified documents

1. Agencies and units under the Ministry shall be responsible for storing and preserving classified documents received, and must establish management files for classified documents. Documents classified as Top Secret and Absolute Secret must be stored separately. Classified documents shall not be stored on computers connected to the Internet or internal networks. Printed, copied, photographed, recorded classified documents must be kept secure like original documents.

2. Heads of agencies and units directly managing classified documents must regularly inspect and direct the statistics, storage, and preservation of classified documents within their authority.

3. During processing, individuals assigned tasks must ensure security and store classified documents in locked cabinets or safes when work hours end; after completion, they must transfer the classified documents back to the secretary or security department of the unit directly managing those documents. In case of loss, substitution, damage, or partial or full disclosure of classified documents, immediate reports must be made to the head of the agency or unit directly managing the classified documents for prompt handling.

4. The Office shall organize the statistics of state secrets of the Ministry according to time sequence and classification levels; classified documents sent directly to the leadership of the Ministry, after processing, must be securely stored at the Office for management.

5. Annually, agencies and units under the Ministry must compile and submit to the Minister a list of classified documents that have been processed but not yet declassified for the Minister's review and decision to transfer them to the Office for continued storage and preservation according to classified document regulations.

Article 15. Inspection and Reporting on Confidentiality Work

1. The Director of the Office shall lead the implementation of inspections on state secret protection work within the Ministry; periodic inspections must be conducted at least once every two years; reports on state secret protection work of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications submitted to the Prime Minister, with copies sent to the Ministry of Public Security, shall include:

a) Timely reports on incidents causing the disclosure of state secrets; reports must be timely upon occurrence, detailing measures taken to verify, investigate, recover, and prevent potential harm;

b) Annual reports on state secret protection work;

c) Five-year summary reports on state secret protection work.

2. Heads of agencies and units under the Ministry shall be responsible for inspecting and urging compliance with state secret protection regulations within their units.

3. Civil servants and officials of the Ministry who discover matters related to state secret protection work managed by the Ministry must report to the Director of the Office or their direct supervisor for timely recommendations to the Minister on handling measures.

Article 16. Dissemination, Study, and Use of Classified Documents

Dissemination, study, and use of classified documents must be carried out according to the following principles:

1. To the correct subjects and scope within organizations ensuring confidentiality and safety.

2. Recording, audio recording, and video recording may only be done with permission from the head of the agency or unit directly managing the documents.

Article 17. Provision of State Secrets to Domestic Agencies, Organizations, and Individuals

1. Individuals tasked with gathering information within the scope of state secrets must present identification cards, letters of introduction, and official letters from their supervising agencies clearly stating the content and requirements for gathering information.

2. Agencies and units holding state secrets may provide information to domestic agencies, organizations, and individuals only upon approval by authorized authorities according to the following provisions:

a) State secrets classified as "Top Secret" and "Absolute Secret" require approval by the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications;

b) State secrets classified as "Secret" require approval by the Director of the Office, Heads of Departments and Bureaus, and equivalent levels within the Ministry.

3. The provision of state secrets by the Ministry must strictly adhere to the approved content and method. Recipients of information may not disclose the information nor provide it to third parties. Details of the information-provision meeting must be documented in minutes for reporting to the person who approved the information provision and submitted to the secretary or security department of the agency or unit.

Article 18. Provision of information within the scope of state secrets to foreign agencies, organizations, and individuals

1. The provision of information within the scope of state secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to foreign organizations and individuals shall only be carried out after approval from the competent authority as follows:

a) Information classified as "Top Secret" must be approved by the Prime Minister;

b) Information classified as "Secret" must be approved by the Minister of Public Security;

c) Information classified as "Confidential" must be approved by the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications or the authorized representative.

2. The person providing the information may only provide the contents that have been approved. Requests for approval to provide information within the scope of state secrets must be in writing, specifying the provider of the information; the type of state secret information to be provided; the foreign organization or individual receiving the information; the scope and purpose of using the information. The recipient must commit to using the information for its intended purpose and not disclose it to third parties.

Article 19. Destruction of Confidential Documents

1. The authority to decide on the destruction of confidential documents is stipulated as follows:

a) At the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the decision is made by the Minister. The Director of the Ministry's Office proposes the establishment and composition of the Destruction Committee;

b) At subordinate agencies and units under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the decision is made by the head of the agency or unit and the Destruction Committee is established;

c) For cryptographic materials, the destruction is carried out according to the regulations of the Government Cryptographic Department.

2. The Destruction Committee is responsible for preparing a detailed inventory list of each confidential document to be destroyed, including the document number, number of copies, and summary of the document. The content of the record must reflect the method, procedure, and person carrying out the destruction of confidential documents as prescribed by law. The record must bear the signatures of all members of the Destruction Committee. The destruction record is kept at the archives or security department of the managing agency or unit.

3. Methods of destroying classified documents:

a) For classified documents printed on paper, they must be burned or shredded until they cannot be pieced back together;

b) For confidential documents in the form of tapes, floppy disks, photographic films, or external storage devices connected through USB ports, they must be altered completely in shape and function so that they cannot be exploited or used anymore;

c) In special cases where conditions do not allow for organized destruction of confidential documents as prescribed in Clause 1 and 2 of this Article, if failure to immediately destroy the confidential documents would cause serious consequences for national security, defense, or other interests of the State, the person managing the confidential documents may destroy them independently but must report in writing to the head of the directly managing agency or unit immediately thereafter. If the independent destruction of confidential documents does not have a legitimate reason, the destroyer will be held responsible under the law.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 20. Awards and Disciplinary Actions

1. Agencies, units, and individuals with achievements in protecting state secrets of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications shall be rewarded according to current State regulations.

2. Individuals who leak, lose confidential documents or obstruct the protection of state secrets shall be subject to disciplinary action, administrative penalties, or criminal responsibility depending on the severity of the violation, as prescribed by law.

Article 21. Responsibility for Implementing the Regulation

1. Agencies, units, and individuals related to state secrets managed by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications are responsible for strictly implementing this Regulation and relevant laws on protecting state secrets.

2. Heads of agencies and units under the Ministry are responsible for assigning staff to work on confidentiality; ensuring technical facilities to serve the protection of state secrets; promoting and educating about laws on protecting state secrets; reporting in accordance with regulations; based on the nature of the documents of their unit and the above provisions, they can develop internal procedures to concretize the management of confidential documents of their agency or unit.

3. Postal, telecommunications, and information technology enterprises shall, based on the laws on protecting state secrets and this Regulation, proactively establish their own Regulations on protecting state secrets.

4. The Director of the Office is responsible for guiding the implementation, inspecting, urging the implementation, and periodically reporting to the Minister on the implementation of this Regulation./.