The Institute carried out a study to evaluate the external security posture of 3,068 digital public service platforms between 2023 and 2024. These platforms were identified in the 2022’s edition of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) eGovernment (eGov) adoption study. The work provides an in-depth analysis of the main external cybersecurity risks affecting eGov platforms and proposes specific actions to improve these platforms’ resilience against attacks.
According to Diogo Ribeiro, one of the study’s authors and a cybersecurity researcher at INESC TEC, the research was motivated by “the false sense of security many citizens feel when using these services.” Specifically, the study focuses on the real and systematic vulnerabilities of said platforms, while also seeking to “understand whether a country’s economic capacity influences the presence or mitigation of these risks.”
The findings show significant progress in vulnerability mitigation over the past year. However, they also highlight ongoing security flaws, e.g., poor management of security certificates and exposure to technical vulnerabilities.
“One of the main contributions of the study is the creation of a global snapshot of security across eGov platforms,” said the researcher. “The report not only identifies problems but also provides practical recommendations to address them, guiding governments and public institutions in defining more effective cybersecurity policies,” he added.
The work “Assessing the information security posture of online public services worldwide: Technical insights, trends, and policy implications” was published in Government Information Quarterly, a Q1-ranked journal recognised in the field of Public Administration and eGovernment.
The researcher mentioned in this news piece is associated with INESC TEC.
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