A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyCountries across the globe are striving towards full-scale implementation of e-government. One of the issues arising with the efforts to this realization is the assurance of secure transactions while upholding high privacy standards. In order to engage citizens in the process, there must be transparency and confidence that the e-government systems they are using are reliable and will deliver the services with integrity, confidentiality and accountability. Different systems require different levels of security according to the services they provide to their users.
This research presents an investigation into reasons why e-government security frameworks developed by researchers with the claim that it is one-size-fits-all issue may not hold true, particularly in the case of Nigeria, based on certain identified realities. The claim of a generalized framework appears very challenging because there seem to be much diversity across different governments. Countries differ in one or more of the following characteristics: political systems, legal systems, economic situation, available technological infrastructure, Internet and PC penetration, availability of skills and human resources, literacy levels, computer literacy levels, level of poverty, leadership, and ethnic diversities in terms of norms, languages, and expertise. Security measures implemented in e-government projects in some developed countries, beginning with more established e-government systems around the world, were evaluated and a strategic framework for e-government security proposed which considers both technical and non-technical factors that involve people, processes and technologies. The framework is proposed to advance the rapid adoption of practices that will guarantee e-government security. It seeks to provide a flexible, repeatable and cost-effective approach to implementing e-government security. This research examines the issues of enclosure in the implementation of e-government from the perspective of security and ultimately survivability
