Trust in the Public Sector? On Information Security Awareness in an Audit Service

Trust has been a key aspect of organisational information sharing for some time now. However, the conceptualisation of the concept within the public sector as a means of creating security awareness suffers rigorous and systematic academic treatment. It remains the aim of this paper to tease out trust as it pertains in a public sector government department and project its diverse implications within the context of information security awareness creation. Through qualitative research approach driven by interpretive philosophical orientation, the paper reveals fundamentally diverse challenges that are occasioned by the application of information communication technologies in the management of sensitive and precious corporate data. Findings suggest the adoption of wide-ranging approaches in sensitizing members of an organisation to the crucial importance of not taking the sharing and distribution of information for granted. Rather, the promotion of an organisational atmosphere that is informed by mutual awareness in the treatment of diverse sources of corporate data for efficient and effective information sharing. Further research can focus on control to determine the extent to which information security awareness can be understood without trust.