State monopoly on IT operations is a bad idea
A state monopoly is no guarantee of secure IT operations. Rather, it is an obstacle to innovation and efficient use of resources, writes Åsa Zetterberg of IT&Telecom in a debate article in Dagens Samhälle.
The fact that the government wants to use digitalization to strengthen security and efficiency in the public sector is both welcome and necessary. But it will be an expensive investment if the government moves away from an innovative and solution-oriented industry and instead believes it has the solutions itself. A state monopoly is no guarantee of secure IT operations. Rather, it is an obstacle to innovation and efficient use of resources.
Recently, the government published the committee directive on secure and cost-effective IT operations for public administration. The result of this risks leading in practice to a state monopoly. The aim is "to achieve secure and cost-effective IT operations through coordinated government IT operations". This is the government's view - security is better when the state takes full responsibility and worse when private actors are involved. But this is pure delusion.