Keywords

County, Critical infrastructure protection, Information technology, Intergovernmental management, Local government

Abstract

As cyber attacks become more sophisticated, the risk to all networked computer systems increases. Whether public or private, whether federal, state, or local, the threat is equally real. Consequently, local governments must respond accordingly to understand the threats, take measures to protect themselves, and determine how to respond in the event of a system breach. Additionally, since cyber criminals do not respect geographic or administrative boundaries, local leaders must be prepared to instantly interact with other governments, agencies, and departments to suppress an attack. Guided by the theory of intergovernmental management (IGM), this exploratory research investigated how Information Technology (IT) Directors in Florida county constitutional offices use intergovernmental relations and management activities as part of their information security efforts. Specifically, this research sought to determine: 1) which IGM activities do county IT Directors most often perform; 2) do county IT Directors make more use of vertical or horizontal IGM relationships; 3) is there a relationship between office/county demographics and the IGM activities its IT Directors most often perform? To answer these questions, an electronic survey was distributed to 209 directors, of which 125 responded. Overwhelmingly, the findings indicate that these Directors rarely engage in IGM activities regardless of the purpose or type of government/department contacted. However, when seeking intergovernmental assistance, it is most often horizontally with other Departments within their own government and least often vertically with Federal offices. The most frequently performed intergovernmental activity is seeking technical assistance, however seeking program/project information is also perform more frequently than the other activities explored in this research. The least frequently performed activities involved seeking to modify established IT partnerships. Further, there was evidence of relationships between certain office/county demographics and IGM activity. The discovery of these patterns and relationships can be used to aid policy and program development, as well as to stimulate deeper inquiry into the intergovernmental dimensions involved in protecting local elements of the U.S. Critical Digital Infrastructure.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2004

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Abel, Eileen

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Health and Public Affairs

Department

Public Affairs

Degree Program

Public Affairs

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0000059

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0000059

Language

English

Release Date

January 2006

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Health and Public Affairs; Health and Public Affairs -- Dissertations, Academic

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