Paradox of cybersecurity? The democratic deficit in municipal work to raise citizens' risk awareness

Purpose The increased dependence on information technology for storage, access and analysis of information has increased the vulnerability of states, organisations and individuals in the last decade. Despite cyberattacks being one of the major risks perceived by citizens, little research has addressed how the public sector at local level is managing the challenges that raising society's preparedness in relation to cyber threats entails. The aim of this study is therefore to analyse the extent to which municipalities are taking measures to increase citizens' awareness of information and cybersecurity risks and to discuss why potential challenges might arise. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey was used by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) to collect data from 234 of Sweden's 290 municipalities in the period 10/3-25/4 2023. Findings The results show that 81% of the municipalities are not engaged in raising citizens' awareness of information and cybersecurity risks, and that established working procedures for information and cybersecurity are relevant in understanding this lack of engagement. Interpretive insight from previous literature also shows the relevance of the range of professional logics, which does not provide sufficient incentives for the profession engaged in planning and managing the information and cyber risks to cooperate. Originality/value The paper addresses the citizen perspective in relation to work carried out on information and cybersecurity risks at the municipal level. The article's contribution is to show that the citizen's perspective does not have any prominence in the work that municipalities conduct on information and cybersecurity risks.