Location
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
Event Website
https://hicss.hawaii.edu/
Start Date
7-1-2025 12:00 AM
End Date
10-1-2025 12:00 AM
Description
Cybersecurity threats to local governments continue to grow along with the devastating costs of both prevention and recovery. The lack of skills to address these threats presses local governments to outsource cybersecurity services. Although the literature is extant when it comes to information technology (IT) services outsourcing, studies have not really differentiated between general IT contracting and contracting for cybersecurity. Our study aims at better understanding outsourcing of cybersecurity through two research questions: 1) what drives the decision to “make or buy” cybersecurity services? and 2) what determines the success of cybersecurity outsourcing initiatives? Based on interviews with local government officials, our analysis identifies three sets of drivers and two sets of determinants which have the greatest impact on outsourcing decisions and implementation efforts for cybersecurity. Our results indicate there is no single driver influencing the decision to outsource, but several which collectively lead local government managers to the decision.
Recommended Citation
Waltz, Craig and Gasco-Hernandez, Mila, "Understanding Cybersecurity Outsourcing Processes in Local Governments" (2025). Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2025 (HICSS-58). 3.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-58/dg/cybersecurity/3
Understanding Cybersecurity Outsourcing Processes in Local Governments
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
Cybersecurity threats to local governments continue to grow along with the devastating costs of both prevention and recovery. The lack of skills to address these threats presses local governments to outsource cybersecurity services. Although the literature is extant when it comes to information technology (IT) services outsourcing, studies have not really differentiated between general IT contracting and contracting for cybersecurity. Our study aims at better understanding outsourcing of cybersecurity through two research questions: 1) what drives the decision to “make or buy” cybersecurity services? and 2) what determines the success of cybersecurity outsourcing initiatives? Based on interviews with local government officials, our analysis identifies three sets of drivers and two sets of determinants which have the greatest impact on outsourcing decisions and implementation efforts for cybersecurity. Our results indicate there is no single driver influencing the decision to outsource, but several which collectively lead local government managers to the decision.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-58/dg/cybersecurity/3