Mechanisms for Implementing the Regional Information Security Policy

Abstract

The article provides a substantiation of the feasibility of establishing regional cyber defense centers as a mechanism for implementing the public policy on information security at the local and regional level. It is argued that digital transformations in the public administration, the development of e-governance, the expansion of digital services, and the growing number of cyber threats necessitate the improvement of existing mechanisms for protecting the information resources of territorial communities. This issue has become particularly relevant in the context of the full-scale Russian aggression, when public authorities, local self-government bodies, municipal enterprises, and other critical information infrastructures are increasingly becoming targets of cyberattacks. It is demonstrated that the traditional centralized cybersecurity model is not always capable of ensuring an adequate level of responsiveness to local information security incidents, which necessitates the establishment of a regional level of coordination and control of cyber defense processes. It is substantiated that regional cyber defense centers can perform functions related to cyber threat monitoring, information security auditing, coordination of cross-sectoral cooperation, professional training, and advisory support for local self-government bodies charged with digital security. Public-private partnership is identified as the most effective organizational framework for the operation of such centers, as it enables for integrating the state’s administrative capacity, the technological resources of the private sector, research and expertise, and civic initiatives. It is proposed to incorporate regional cyber defense centers in the regional digital infrastructure as an institutional mechanism for implementing the local information security policy. It is concluded that the establishment of such centers will contribute to strengthening the cyber resilience of territorial communities, enhancing preventive cyber threat response mechanisms, and improving the national information security.