Analysis of security management efficiency in public institutions of the Republic of Croatia

Members of the project team:
Prof. Nenad Vretenar - EFRI
Prof. Jana Špirková - Matej Bel University, Slovakia
Ana Babić – PhD student EFRI
Antonija Kranjec – EFRI, PhD student FELU


Abstract:
Nowadays, the use of digital technology in all aspects of business operations represents an imperative of competitiveness. The EU directives, the European Commission’s Digital Agenda, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things and Big Data are just some of the key determinants that need to be followed in order to be competitive on the global market, reduce business costs and maximize customer service availability. Digitization of business processes, although notably positive for business, may represent a huge risk within the business environment if all security aspects are not met in its implementation. In their attempt to keep up with the galloping changes in the digital environment, public institutions are, at times, unaware of a whole spectrum of security risks and threats brought by these forms of business and thus they are unconsciously ignored. Technological development and new ways of processing personal data have brought about the need for defining a new instrument that will ensure the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data. In this respect, in mid-2016, the European Commission issued the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which will come into force on May 25 2018. This Directive ensures a harmonized and uniform activity of supervisory authorities responsible for protecting personal data, and thus provides for a simpler and equal protection of natural persons’ rights across the European Union and introduces a wide range of security measures. The project encompasses an empirical research to determine the level of awareness of leadership structures in public institutions of the Republic of Croatia in respect to the importance of data security at all levels. Furthermore, the researchers will define a metric to measure the level of security and system’s maturity based on criteria such as the COBIT, and will detect organizational problems arising from GDPR implementation. A quantitative analysis will be carried out to assess the level of efficiency of public institutions. Based on the obtained results, measures and potential solutions will be proposed. 



Key words: GDPR regulation, security management, efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)