(by Dr. Giuseppe Gorga, AIDR partner) In the three-year plan, launched by the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID), it is expected that while on the one hand the digital services provided by the Public Administration will be crucial for the functioning of the country system, on the other hand, that the cyber threat is growing both in quantity and quality and is creating real social engineering techniques that are aimed at deceiving the end users of digital services.
Therefore, it becomes essential for the PA to combat threats and thus protect both the integrity and confidentiality of the Public Information System, thus increasing trust in the digital services provided by the PA. This can be achieved through Cyber Security Awareness, to mitigate the risk associated with potential cyber threats. The access points to the digital services of the PAs of the institutional portals of the public administrations should apply a homogeneous level of security, based on certain regulatory and strategic references to which the administrations must comply, first and foremost with Legislative Decree 7 March 2005, n. 82 - Code of digital administration (CAD), to the Legislative Decree 18 May 2018, n. 65 implementing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 6 July 2016, for measures of a common level of security of networks and information systems in the Union. The Decree Law 21 September 2019, n. 105, on the subject of national cyber security, the Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of 8 August 2019 which governs the organization and operation of the computer security incident response team - Italian CSIRT, to which the National Plan for the Cyber Protection of the 2017 and this in coordination with the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of personal data.
In this context of cyber security, digital skills for the PA and for the country become fundamental for digital inclusion. Given that emancipation and integration towards digital requires indispensable digital skills, these will have to move with a view to IT security aimed at giving confidence to achieve the digital transformation of the PA and the country and allow the widespread and effective use of digital public services.
The lack of digital skills in current school education, both medium and high school, is also an obstacle to widespread training for the general population and the elderly in particular and has negative effects on the possibility of exercising citizenship and participation rights aware of democratic dialogue. It creates difficulties in the labor market and, consequently, on the country's ability to adapt to the evolution of new markets and new professions, largely related to emerging technologies. In this context, we understand, the project that gave light to the national strategic initiative of the Digital Republic, which sees a multi-stakeholder alliance of public and private subjects and a steering committee - whose composition was not formed, for the part of non-public subjects, transparent - which has put Ministries, Regions and Autonomous Provinces, Metropolitan Cities, Municipalities, universities, research, companies, professionals, Rai, associations and the various areas of the public sector involved on the same table, which has become the Italian national coalition within the European Commission's “Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition” program.
Within this new virtual subject, the so-called "Digital Republic" has been defined as the "National strategy for digital skills", which is divided into four axes of intervention and precisely in the development of the digital skills necessary within the cycle of higher education and training, with the coordination of Ministry of Education and Ministry of University and Research. The enhancement and development of the digital skills of the workforce, both in the private and public sectors, including skills for e-leadership with the coordination of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Department of Public Administration. The development of specialized ICT skills to face the challenges related to emerging technologies and the possession of key skills for the jobs of the future with the coordination of the Ministry of University and Research and the Ministry of Economic Development. Finally, in the enhancement of digital skills necessary to exercise citizenship rights and conscious participation in democratic dialogue with the coordination of the Minister for Technological Innovation and Digitization.
In the specific context of the rights and duties of digital citizenship, in order to promote the full use of digital public services and simplify relations between citizens, businesses and the Public Administration, the creation of a guide on digital citizenship rights provided for in the CAD is envisaged.
In conclusion, it is believed that it is clear that the objectives of the Plan can only be achieved through awareness-raising and training actions that primarily involve the employees of the Public Administration and the world of secondary school as a whole. Furthermore, the platforms with training contents aimed at administrations differentiated by size and type of activity carried out, as well as through the specific discipline of "digital skills" as institutional teaching for the upper secondary school, must be strengthened. This activity will then need to be associated with specific training on the issues of data quality, accessibility, security awareness, ICT project management, training and updating on digital transformation and governance of innovation processes for Responsible for the transition to digital.