December - 20198GOVERNMENT CIO OUTLOOKIN MYOPINIONHow Security Concerns Impact Cross-Agency InitiativesRichard Amer, Industry Director Global Public Sector, Unisys [NYSE: UIS]Byecurity is far more than a mere IT issue. It is a reputational issue and, for government agencies, it is at the heart of their relationship with the citizens they serve and protect. Connected government and other cross-agency initiatives put new pressures on public sector CIOs, particularly when these initiatives go hand in hand with IT modernisation and digital transformation efforts. The combination of digital transformation and government data sharing increases the risk of compound security breaches, where multiple sets of data are compromised or new threats arise from unforeseen quarters. Unisys research has found that 59 percent of U.S. Federal IT executives claim that IT modernisation efforts have increased the list of IT security challenges they face. Preventing data breaches is high on that list, and rightly so. According to the 2019 Unisys Security Index, citizens across Asia Pacific say their top security concern is unauthorised access to or misuse of their personal data. Percentage of population concerned about these issues:As government moves towards digital transformation, it needs to revise its approach to security, particularly in relation to cross agency initiatives.Just how seriously it takes into account citizens' privacy concerns will have a major impact on the success of those initiatives.Sharing data elevates risk and concern. Across the APAC region, citizens' concerns are elevated when data is shared between government agencies, as was highlighted in the 2018 Unisys Connected Government research. Of the 5,000 people surveyed in Asia Pacific, just 41 percent fully supported their personal data being shared to enable government to deliver more targeted programmes and services, the same number also fully supported personal data being shared so that they would not have to repeat providing the same information to different agencies.The reasons why some people did not want their data to be shared across agencies included:· My data would not be protected from internal accidental security breaches. · Government will not protect my data from an external attack. · Unauthorised people within the government would access my data. Australia Identity Theft 57% Identity Theft 49% Hacking/viruses 48% War/terrorism 51% Natural disaster 89% Hacking/viruses 87% Identity theft 90% Bankcard Fraud 56% Identity Theft 87% Bankcard Fraud 88% New ZealandPhilippinesMalaysia*Percentage of Kiwis concerned about war/terrorism jumped 29% to 51% after the Christchurch attacks.S
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