One of the procedures that can be integrated in the government departments in order to protect the data include ensuring that there is a culture place that will be followed by the departments. According to Cordella and Willcocks (2012) the implementation of the data in the departments will be assured and managed if the departmental heads will ensure that there is some culture that is followed in the departments. The right culture has been enshrined in most departments in the United Kingdom. Data losses in the departments of the government is an issue of concern and there is the carrying out of the proper investigation to ensure that all is well (Doherty, Anastasakis, & Fulford, 2011). Departments in the UK have introduced Privacy Impact Assessment procedures which are used to ensure that privacy issues are included in the plans from the beginning. The most important projects will be assessed and managed in order to ensure that the projects are secure. There is also the basic training of all data users in the departments so that they are able to understand the requirements of the data privacy. Culture plays a crucial role in the management of data privacy in most of the departments.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been widely used in Australian government. They have been put in place the security measures that ensure that the users are able to make use of the data and information systems effectively to protect the data. The SOPs have ensured that the personnel are able to undertake their duties without bringing any form of confusion in the process. The different roles of the IT staff are defined. There are system administrators, ITSM, and ITSO. These are significant authorities in the management of data security in an organization. The ITSO SOPs have been put forth to ensure that there are standard procedures in management of IT operations. The data transfer, data management, and handling of ICT equipment have been defined in the standard procedures of IT operations.
Australian and United Kingdom governments have put in place measures to ensure that there are security and privacy policies documented and put in a central place. The departments have designated a place where the security policies can be stored. The policies are accessible by all staff and the responsibilities and the procedures in which the staff will be required to access the data is written down by the heads of departments. The policies are stored in one location which is accessible by all staff members. All department members understand the role they play in ensuring that there is security of the data in the entire process. The departments also have ensured that there are standards that have been put in place to ensure that the data are safe. The department members will ensure that they strive to meet the standards that have been set regarding data security of the government data and information. With the use of standards and having departmental targets, the staff will be responsible and will managed to have data security in these departments (Oderkirk, Ronchi, & Klazinga, 2013). The department members are also educated from time to time about how to use the policies and the practices which have been put in place. There is a need to ensure that there are best practices and policies that are updated from time to time to ensure that they are up-to date and follow the objectives of the department.
Another way in which the departments have ensured that there is security of the documents is providing a budget for security of the data in the departments. From time to time, there will be a need to ensure that the data are safe and secured in the entire process. Wright (2012) state that the budget will ensure that there are tools that are used in the management of the data security within the departments. It is a practice which has been adopted in the departments of health in both Australia and United Kingdom. The security of the data has been given the priority that it deserves in the whole process. There should be considerations of the procedures and the policies of the department. It should be factored in the department budget.
Also, the government can come up with a policy that will be followed in each department. The departments will then take up the policy to adapt to the departmental requirements that the department wants. The users will then be made responsible for the data security. One of the ways in which the government can do this is to have users have roles to play in the management of the risks (Lawrence, Richards, & Lyons, 2013). Clerks in a department can be given some responsibility, like ensuring that the data is safe while they are being entered to the system. The implementers of the data will also have a role to play in the entire process. The managers will be given the overall custodians of the data privacy. Ha (2011) argues that it is one of the many ways in which the data can be secured in every department. It is important to understand these procedures and come up with methods in which the data will be achieved. Having different roles for many users is one of the ways in which the users will be responsible for data. The policy that was meant to be used on the overall government entity will be personalized so that each and every member of the department will have a role to play in ensuring that the policy has been integrated.
Another way is the development of a center in each department which will follow up in the performance of the different departments. Peltier (2013) states that it will ensure that there is progress in the security process. A data security contact center can be used to ensure that there is a place to reference and get the right direction regarding data security procedures. The scale that has been set by the whole government entity will be the base that the performance will be undertaken. In the UK, for example, there has been the development of contact center and personnel in every department that will handle any data breach issue which might occur. The data and the contact team have been developed to ensure that there are procedures to be followed that align with the policies of that particular department.
Another practice is the development of computer emergency response team (CERT). CERT has been a toll that is common in Australian and UK governments in management of data breaches. They have been useful in this process and have helped in the entire process of information security procedures that are required. The data recovery procedures are important aspects which have helped in the management of privacy issues within government departments. When there are procedures and the methods in which to recover the list data and information, it will help in the getting back the data and systems in place. The IT emergency response team are tasked with ensuring that there are steps that will be taken in order to have the recovery of the data which might have been lost in the process. The response team will be contacted every time that is security breach within an organization.
References
Cordella, A., & Willcocks, L. (2012). Government policy, public value and IT outsourcing: The strategic case of ASPIRE. The journal of strategic information systems, 21(4), 295-307.
Doherty, N. F., Anastasakis, L., & Fulford, H. (2011). Reinforcing the security of corporate information resources: A critical review of the role of the acceptable use policy. International journal of information management, 31(3), 201-209.
Ha, H. (2011). Security and privacy in e-consumer protection in Victoria, Australia. In Trust Management V (pp. 240-252). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Lawrence, G., Richards, C., & Lyons, K. (2013). Food security in Australia in an era of neoliberalism, productivism and climate change. Journal of Rural Studies, 29, 30-39.
Morrison, Z., Robertson, A., Cresswell, K., Crowe, S., & Sheikh, A. (2011). Understanding contrasting approaches to nationwide implementations of electronic health record systems: England, the USA and Australia. Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2(1), 25-42.
Oderkirk, J., Ronchi, E., & Klazinga, N. (2013). International comparisons of health system performance among OECD countries: opportunities and data privacy protection challenges. Health Policy, 112(1), 9-18.
Palanisamy, R., & Mukerji, B. (2012). Security and Privacy issues in e-Government. IGI Global, 236-248.
Peltier, T. R. (2013). Information security fundamentals. CRC Press.
Tipton, H. F., & Krause, M. (2012). Information security management handbook. CRC Press.
Wright, D. (2012). The state of the art in privacy impact assessment. Computer Law & Security Review, 28(1), 54-61.
