Cybersecurity in local government - a comparative study

Cybersecurity is a pressing issue for public authorities at all tiers of government.

Local governments are crucial in strengthening the security of public information systems as they oversee large, complex and essential public services, which are becoming increasingly digitalised.

However, local governments vary extensively, e.g., in terms of party politics, economic resources, demographics, geographic characteristics and organisation of political institutions. Unfortunately, research on cybersecurity in local governments have long been neglected.

The main aim of this project is to increase our knowledge of cybersecurity governance in local government trough a comprehensive and comparative approach.

More specifically, this project addresses: (1) to what extent and in what ways local governments attend to cybersecurity risks; (2) how local governments organize and manage cybersecurity; (3) what similarities and differences that exist for (1) and (2); and (4) how differences can be explained, in particular the way in which the size of local governments affects their attention to, framing of and preparedness in relation to cybersecurity.

In terms of theory, the project combines agenda setting theory and agency theory in order to understand how local governments address cybersecurity problems and their solutions.

Data is collected using an online survey of Swedish municipalities (n=290); analysis of key documents from a complete sample of municipalities; and interviews (n=45).