Security News > 2022 > January > Governments struggle to deliver secure online citizen services

Over the past two years, many public sector organizations were prompted by the immediate need to deploy digital infrastructure to maintain continuity of their services amid the COVID-19 pandemic - such as offering citizens license renewals online and virtual education - and are now grappling with the impacts on cybersecurity and user experience.

Most governments are looking to expand their digital services in the next two years and rank protecting citizen's privacy and data as most important when thinking about online citizen services.

Regional analysis shows U.S. respondents rank ensuring citizens' trust in digital services as an area of high importance, but have less confidence in their organization's ability to deliver this.

Similar discrepancies in importance versus confidence in delivery include speed in adding new services in the UK, and improving the user experience in ANZ. Dean Scontras, VP of State and Local Government and Education at Okta, said: "Digitization is likely to continue in light of Zero Trust mandates and mounting consumer expectations. Public sector organizations greatly benefit from bringing their identity management strategy in line with their digital goals. While there is a strong focus on securing citizen data, the vast majority of applications are still protected by a username and password, despite their well-documented security risks."

According to Forrester Research, the public sector has a massive influence on the entire economy making up 30% of the global GDP and 33% of the global workforce, and the global research firm predicts that more governments will adopt zero trust frameworks to revive public trust in digital services.

Jessica Figueras, a cybercrime and digital identity advisor to governments and Okta consultant, said: "In the face of increasing digitization, skills shortages, and online harms, governments are taking a hard look at the technologies they can bring onboard to help them reach their digital goals. The research suggests that identity is one such technology that can help the public sector do more with less."

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/01/18/secure-online-citizen-services/