Municipal E-government Security: What is the Greatest Challenge?

The security of e-government systems is a recurring theme among e-government literature and is often cited as the greatest challenge and barrier to e-government initiatives. However, research pertaining to the security needs of e-government systems is very limited and frequently raises more questions than answers. The discussion of security for municipal or city-level e-government systems is even more scarce. This paper presents the findings from a study conducted amongst municipalities in the county of Orange, California and highlights: 1) the need for e-government security at the municipal level, 2) areas of strengths in municipal e-government systems and 3) the greatest challenges in securing municipal e-government systems.