Security in E-government

Abstract

Governments and businesses have become dependent on the Internet as a new foundation for communication, collaboration and commerce. The Internet has become the network for bridging citizens, businesses and governments. However, the security of the Internet has not improved to reflect its use as a critical infrastructure component.While these threats show that IT security is critical, it is sometimes viewed as another expense in the budget. Much of the investment to date has been directed at keeping parties out through perimeter security. While this is important, governments are now recognizing the strategic and financial advantage of providing constituents and suppliers increased access to government resources. The key to recognizing these benefits from these integrated business processes is an information security foundation. This security enables government agencies to offer new online services, exchange confidential information with businesses and other government organizations, and conduct higher value online transactions.This paper is intended to help government agencies with the process of security self-assessment, and to provide information on security solutions. By providing a security foundation, these solutions enable governments to expand e-government and do more online, thereby increasing productivity while at the same time protecting critical information assets and public trust. Entrust provides a security platform that that uses digital identities to strongly authenticate all the parties in a business relationship, encryption to protect the confidentiality of information, and digital signatures to enable accountability and integrity of online transactions.