Trust in Times of Cyber Crisis: Understanding Organizational Trust Repair in the Public Sector

Nowak, David; Distel, Bettina

Abstract

Increasingly, the public sector faces cybersecurity threats and is attacked by both criminals and hacktivists. Targets of such attacks are most often critical infrastructures. The repercussions of such attacks extend beyond technical systems, impacting social, organizational, and economic realms. As cyber threats proliferate and prevention becomes challenging, effectively managing the aftermath of a cyberattack, i.e. a cybercrisis, becomes more important. This article delves into a lesser-explored aspect of digital government research and investigates the impact of cyberattacks on trust relationships within the public sector. Moreover, it sheds light on the strategies employed by affected organizations to restore trust. The article uses the case of five municipalities affected by a recent large-scale cyberattack on a regional IT-provider in Germany. Drawing on a comparative case study, it investigates the complex interplay between cybercrises and trust, emphasizing the potential of trust repair tactics in mitigating the negative impacts of a trust transgression in the public sector.