Information security threats and E-government initiatives at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)

Abstract

Governments all over the world are embracing ICT to provide better services to the public. This use of information Technology has transformed the traditional form of government to E-Government. The Kenya government has invested a huge chunk of its budget on ICT although it is faced with complex and difficult questions regarding information security. The KRA being a major authority in the Ministry of Finance in the Kenyan government has also not being left behind in utilizing modern means of communication. KRA has also encountered several information security threats. Therefore the goal of this study is to determine the information security threats and egovernment initiatives in the KRA. The study had three main objectives. First it was to establish the security threats on egovernment initiatives in the KRA. Secondly it was to establish the factors that facilitate security threats to e-government initiatives in KRA. Thirdly it was to determine the influence of security threats on e-government initiatives in the KRA. The study used case study design. This design was chosen since it is suitable for studies that concentrate on one key subject area like in our case the KRA. A direct contact questionnaire was used and we had 37 successful respondents out of a sample size of 40. The data analysis for the questionnaires used SPSS. The study found out that software bugs, spamming and identity theft are the most common threats at KRA. These threats are facilitated by inadequate training, years an employee has worked at KRA, out dated software and social media. ITMS and Simba system are the most used system and are also prone to many of the threats. The information from this research will inform policy makers, government IT departments and other interested actors in the field of IT and internet security on the way forward in terms of policy formulation and implementation towards security and sustainable EGovernance in Kenya.