Officials from the local government can persuade the residents that the adoption of the new cybersecurity policy is not designed for invasion of their privacy but to protect them from hackers. The local authority can argue that a society that lacks privacy is prone to harm if there are no restrictions concerning accessibility and use of individual information (Hatcher et al., 2020) Thus, the government aims solidify the residents’ security of personal data as a way of curbing the increasing rate of cybercrimes.
In addition, the officials can inform the people that the new policy is a necessity to everyone given the emerging issues concerning inappropriate use of their information by companies for business gains. By all means, the most suitable way to protect people’s confidentiality is by establishment and implementation of a robust cybersecurity policy (Li et al., 2019). Conversely, if the local government lacks such a preventive measure, there will be a high likelihood of rapid rise in cases of hacking due to lack of oversight.
Cybersecurity policies not only benefit the government and the companies, but also everyone using online platforms. Particularly, cybersecurity measures are applied to enforce both rules and regulations, which enables the Service Request System to run efficiently and effectively (Hatcher et al., 2020). At the same time, the local government has the obligation to ensure that the information of the residents remains safe and confidential. Particularly, it is at this point that authentication and authorization are set in (Paliwal, 2021). These two security features play a significant role in online safety systems.
They are used to confirm the identity of the users as well as to allow individuals to access their website and applications (Paliwal, 2021). As a result, the newly developed cybersecurity guidelines are essential in thwarting the risks of the residents’ information being leaked. Moreover, they are protected from exposure to unauthorised access since the system will require individual authenticity to prove that it is approved persons who are requesting for an access.
The local government should not suspend the implementation of the new policy to allow public participation. To begin with, the postponement will further expose the service request system to breaching and hacking of accounts, especially those related to targeted businesses and companies (Hatcher et al., 2020). Cybercrime and cyber risks are gradually becoming common in the digital era as the world continues to see more advancements in technology. As a result, postponing the enforcement of the new policy will lead to a surge in the level of unauthorised accessibility and data infringement (Li et al., 2019).
Besides, when the government informs the residents about the suspension of new policy to consider their comments, there is a high probability of allowing the hackers to prepare in advance to attack the system (Hatcher et al., 2020). Therefore, it is recommendable for the government officials to proceed with the enactment of the policy. In that way, the residents will experience the reform and still have a chance to present their opinions from first-hand account.
Password-based authentication is where a password can be in form of a string of letters, numbers and even special characters. For instance, as a way of protecting themselves, individuals should create a strong password that involves the combination of many options (Nayyef & Sagheer, 2018). This approach is important since it is almost impossible for an unauthorised person to use the same password as the credentials provided are compared to the ones given by the authorized user. Additionally, password-based authentication offers a profound assurance that the person seeking access is identical to who they claim to be (Nayyef & Sagheer, 2018).
This security control is ideal especially in reducing the individual security risks of an unauthorised person while accessing sensitive data and information. Therefore, the use of challenge questions that include the disclosure of private information to recover a password helps in confirming the person’s identity. Consequently, instead of being an ‘invasion of privacy, the proposed controls are essential in protecting the privacy of individuals.
People are also required to disclose confidential information regarding their families as a way of recovering and restoring their password. However, to ensure both privacy and comfortability for their citizens, the government should consider changing the above requirement. For instance, the local authority should partner with an organisation that provides a self-service password reset solution (Li et al., 2019).
Through such a collaboration, the policy makers can choose to modify the authentication credentials to suit the convenience of the residents. During the resetting of a personal password, it is important to ask for information that is comfortable with the user to remember easily. More importantly an ideal way of making security answers safe is to rely on someone’s unique data and the significant use of random strings of character codewords (Paliwal, 2021). Considering the recommended alternative is vital especially in restoring and maintaining trust and confidence of citizens to the local government.
References
Hatcher, W., Meares, W. L., & Heslen, J. (2020). The cybersecurity of municipalities in the United States: an exploratory survey of policies and practices. Journal of Cyber Policy, 1(2), 1–24.
Li, L., He, W., Xu, L., Ash, I., Anwar, M., & Yuan, X. (2019). Investigating the impact of cybersecurity policy awareness on employees’ cybersecurity behavior. International Journal of Information Management, 45(1), 13–24.
Nayyef, M., & Sagheer, A. (2018). Password-Based Authentication System Based on Homomorphic Encryption. Journal of Information & Systems Management, 8(3), 83.
Paliwal, S. (2021). Cyber Attacks and Cyber Security: Basics and Framework. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 9(4), 441–450.