SECURING GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGAINST EMERGING CYBER THREATS

Abstract

The increasing threats and zero-day vulnerabilities might pose a significant risk to the GIS-Government Information System which is the foundation of the power of the state. Such systems facilitate vital services such as the provision of public services, national security operations, financial, healthcare, and policy development. With the digitalization and interconnection of such systems by governments, they are becoming vulnerable to advanced and pervasive cyber-attacks. The development of new attack vectors, including advanced persistent threats (APTs), ransomware, supply-chain attacks, AI-enabled phishing and zero-day exploits pose significant threats to the privacy, sanctity and readability of sensitive government information. The present paper explores the currently changing cyber-threat environment that attacks government information systems and considers effective measures to mitigate it. The current research identifies the major weaknesses of the outdated infrastructure, poor security policies, human error, and limited incident-response capabilities to highlight ways in which the country could be more susceptible to them after reviewing the case studies in the world and situating them into the context of Pakistan, which is a developing nation. The proposed study is a mixed-methods/single-method research because it seeks to obtain quantitative data concerning cyber-incidents, as well as qualitative data, based on expert interviews and reviews of policy documents. Such a two-tier approach provides a full understanding of both technical and socio-organizational aspects of GIS security. This Paper studies suggest that such things as transitioning to zero-trust architecture, having continuous monitoring of your network, increasing the protection on endpoints, establishing a robust encryption protocol, and conducting regular security awareness training to governmental staff.