Risks Involved In Victoria Government In Australia

Risk Management

Discuss about the risks Involved in the Victoria Government in Australia.

The protection of data and information in any organization including Victoria government in Australia is prioritized in the market. The Victoria government is concerned with its security and privacy issues of the data and information. The standards and policies of the government are maintained for the security of the rights and financial status of the company.

This report deals with the risks involved in the huge volumes of data and information of the Victorian government agencies in the locality. A proper risk assessment of the risks involved are mentioned in the report.

This report outlines an effective solution to the risks and strategies for risk management in the Victoria government.

Decision-making is done by analyzing the risks involved in the organization. In this case, various types of risks are identified in the Victoria government that helps in initializing the risk assessment procedure in the government (McNeil, Frey & Embrechts, 2015). Decisions are made with the help of outcomes of the risk assessment procedure that helps in making risk free decisions in the government. There are two types of risk-based decisions including Informal and formal decision. The informal decisions are made with the help of discussion and conversations of the daily routine. On the other hand, formal decision is based on a defined approach and process. Risk management is done to improve performance of the government by achieving goals and objectives (Glendon, Clarke & McKenna, 2016).

The Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDPA) has made changes in the regulatory system of the government regarding the data protection in the Victoria government. The VPDSF has a tiered architecture or the risk management in the government (Lam, 2014).

 

Figure 1: Victorian Protective Data Security Framework

(Source: Lam, 2014)

This framework helps in providing a common model for implementing the framework and with the help of PDPA. There are high-level mandatory statements that helps in supporting the elements in the assurance model. The Assurance model helps in identifying various risk involved in the government that performs the maturity if the organization. This model aims to provide maturity to the organization and provide assurance to the security if the data amd information if the data and information of the government.

The RACI table includes the Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed that is a sample of activities in CPDP.

Activity	Responsible	Accountable	Consulted	Informed
Develop VPSDF	CPDP	CPDP	Organization	Organization
Interpret the content of VPDSS	CPDP	CPDP	Organization	Organization
Establish business context	Organization	Organization	Organization	CPDP
Apply VPDSS	Organization	Organization	CPDP	CPDP
Update security work programs to reflect agile business operations	Organization	Organization	CPDP	CPDP

The RACI Table

Table 1: RACI Table

(Source: DeAngelo & Stulz, 2015)

The risk management in the Victoria government is depended on various factors that includes the governmental agencies in the locality, organization, design and implementation of the strategies in the government (DeAngelo & Stulz, 2015). Therefore, the risks that are involving in the Victoria Government regarding the IT securities are the security of the data and information, risks of losing the data, Cyber-attacks and hardware crash. These risks are found in various governmental agencies under Victoria government.

These risks are prevailing in the Victoria Government for several years. These risks have been categorized in the high, medium and low-level risks. Cyber-attack has been identified to be high-level risks in the government. The cyber-attack has been increased in the Victoria that has caused a huge risk of losing data and information of the government agencies and other important documents (Pritchard & PMP, 2014). This can be informed to the governmental agencies regarding the data and breach. The database of the government has been at high risk from cyber-attack. These has alarmed the cyber security in the government. Cyber security has become an essential part of the organization that has led to secure the data and information of Victoria government. Therefore, there is a huge maintenance in the cyber world of the state. This can helped in maintaining the cyber security of the data and information in the government. Various ethical considerations are involved during the maintenance of the security protocols in the organization. This helps in maintaining proper strategies to maintain risks in the government. The governance committee helps in analyzing the level of risks involved in the state. These threats can be ranked in ascending order as follows: Managerial problems, financial problems, Cyber Security, Breach of data and information, Earthquakes, Fire and Flood (Glendon, Clarke & McKenna, 2016).

Figure 2: Risks involved in Victoria Government

(Source: Learner)

The systematic approach to the rank of the risks involved in the Victoria Government has been done to mitigate the risks. The managerial and financial problems have the low-level risks, as these can be resolved with proper communication among the employees and staffs in the organizations and governmental agencies. Cyber security and Data breach is considered to be in medium-level risks as these risks might cause a huge loss to the organizations (Almeida, Hankins & Williams, 2016). The natural disasters including earthquakes, fire and flood are categorized in high-level risks, as these risks are not under control. There might be risk management can be done for these risks involved in the Victoria government. Therefore, the ranking if the risks involved are justified.

Deliberate and accidental threat

Deliberate threats are consisting of the environmental threats and accidental threats. These threats are vulnerable to the governmental strategies to maintain the risk management in the society. The data and information regarding these threats are not adequately related to the risk involved in the threats. This can be mentioned as the accidental risks in the Victoria government (Hopkin, 2017). The probability of the attacks are not measured properly due to its consequences values and strategies to cope up with it. Deliberate threats are complicated with the uncertainty of its nature that creates difficulties in risk analysis.

Figure 3: Three level risk analysis approach

(Source: Sadgrove, 2016)

These threats include the natural disaster and calamities including earthquake, Flood and Fire. These threats causes loss in data and information that lead to incorrect decisions, financial loss, resource loss and additional costs are being incurred. According to Emergency Management Australia, natural calamities causes massive destruction in the data and information and facilities (Sadgrove, 2016).

Many cases of fire in the area that causes huge loss to lives in the building. This act deliberatively to the governmental agencies in the Victoria. The data and information of the government agencies are lost due to these risks. Therefore, natural disasters are categorized in the high level of risks.

Denial of Service attack completely denies service for legitimating users, resources and systems (Cole, Giné & Vickery, 2017). These attacks are generally the cyber-attacks that targets the online websites including government websites and social media websites. These attacks causes huge loss to the companies in the market. Denial of service have caused various impacts in the e-commerce industry over the internet in Victoria government. Denial of service attacks are carried out by various programming codes and phishing of websites. The starvation attack consumes the system resources including bandwidth, CPU and RAM. These attacks are caused due to lack of firewall in the network server of the organization (Paschen, & Beilin, 2017). The latest version of the operating system helps in maintaining security measures in the computer. Computer viruses, malwares and worms are responsible for the illegal attacks in the network server in the Victoria government. This causes hardware crash and data breaching form the database of the government agencies.

There are different models that are helping in risk management in the Victoria government.

The Assurance model resembles the activities that is performed by the CPDP for monitoring and measuring the security level of the data and information in the governmental agencies. The assurance model help in eradicating the risks by implementing the organizational strategies. This foster partnership with the CPDP and take several decisions to eradicate the risks in the Victoria government (De Bortoli et al., 2017). These strategies help in maintaining the protection of the data and information in the company and the governmental agencies.

Environmental threats

This model helps in providing a measuring level of protection to the organization’s data and information accompanied by PDPA. It also enhances the protection of the data and information in the organization by accomplishing the strategies regarding the security practices. It helps in establishing roles and responsibilities with all the parties in the governmental agencies that helping maintaining the protection of the data and information in the market (Redley & Raggatt, 2017). It also identifies the security tools for monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of the strategies inbuilt by the governmental agencies. The assurance model focuses in the need of continuous improvement in the strategies to protect the data and I formation regarding the organization in the market.

There are various challenges faced by the government of the Victoria during the implementation of the models theories in the organizational strategies. The employee and other staffs of the governmental agencies and organizations are not able to understand these new principles and strategies propounded by assurance model in the market (Lane et al., 2017). Therefore, there is a lack of awareness and information among the employee and other staffs in the organization. Therefore, there are different training and motivations provided to the employees of the organizations that helps in maintaining the awareness of the assurance model among them. Lack of experience among the employees and other staffs that declines the importance of the model in the organization. Therefore, there is need of seminars and programs that helps in providing training to this employee for the implementation of these strategies in the organization. Therefore, importance of the training and motivation is experienced in the organization for the implementation of the assurance mode in organization.

There are various political challenges during implementing these models for risk management. The rules and regulation in the local area have to be maintained buy the model before implementing it in the organization (O’Donahoo & Simmonds, 2016). These laws helps in controlling the duplicity in the model in the Victoria government. Therefore, government have to execute some political pressure and rules for maintaining the proper use of the model in the organization for managing risks involved in the organization. There are various principles in the assurance model that help in providing a bright look to the implementation of the strategies. The outsourcing technique helps in following different strategies and market it outside the Victoria government to apply it (Loke et al., 2016). This outsourcing strategy helps in maintaining the significance of the models and theories in the government.

Denial of Service

Risks are the situations resembling to the potential loss in something. On the other hand, uncertainty implies the absence of certainty of results in respective situations. Various instances help in distinguishing between risks and uncertainty. Uncertainty resembles the idea of absence of forthcoming events that are not known. Risks refers to the sense of losing something (Janes et al., 2017). In this case, the Victoria government has both the uncertainty and risks involved in it. the risks if the government has been already discussed in the report including the natural calamities and cyber-attacks that are prevailing in the market. On the other hand, the security measures and strategies that are made for getting the solution of the risks are uncertainty. The outcomes of the strategies are not known ton us and there are both chance of positive or negative results. Therefore, it can be extracted for the discussing that the risks are controllable whereas uncertainty is uncontrollable. The results and outcomes of the risks are known to us are expected, on the other hand, the outcomes of the uncertainty are not known to us. The strategies that are made are done by accessing the risks involved in it (Howes et al., 2015). Therefore, the risk management is important for the decisions making of the organization in the market. During the brief instances, the facade fades to throw light in the uncertainty of the certainty of the outcomes.

Risks are quantifiable that lead to the probabilities of occurrence in the environment. These risks are mitigated with the theory ti maintain the certainty of the risks. On the other hand, there are no such theories for the uncertainty, as the outcomes are not decided. Uncertainty is the state of not knowing about something in the environment or any project management. The difference between the data required and data provided is the uncertainty. The analysis cannot be done for the case of uncertainty (Heazle et al., 2013). The term uncertainty is increasing prevailing in the risk management industry that helps in maintaining the calculation of the risks involved in the Victoria Government. The intimacy of the curriculum in the risk management is depended on the uncertainty of the agency audit committee. The gaps in the risk management in the Victoria government has been maintained by the agencies in the state that considers the uncertainty in the teamwork. Uncertainty is the ambiguity involved in the lack of clarity in the behavior of the elements involved in relevant risks in the government.

Various approaches are taken by the VIC government to mitigate risks and risk control. The risks management framework of Victoria government has able to control the risks involved in the state.

Figure 4: Risk Management framework of VIC government

(Source: Davies, 2014)

The main elements of the risk management framework are discussed below:

Mandate and Commitment

The agencies in the Victoria government have sustained to available resources and manage risks involved in it. This helps in the development of a positive risk culture in the agency.

Designing framework for mitigating risk

A systematic approach is required for designing a risk management framework in the state that includes risk planning, risk management strategies and risk management plan and policy (Davies, 2014). An effective communication with government and reporting agencies helps in mitigating the risks involved in the management accountabilities.

Implementing risk management

The risk management process can be applied in the risk management framework that helps in mitigating the risks in the state. There are various levels and departments in the risk management process that performs different roles and responsibilities in the framework (Calkin et al., 2014).

Monitoring the framework

The agencies in the Victoria government have to monitor the accessibility of the framework in the state that helps in proper functioning of the risk management strategies. The investment in the resources to mitigate the risks are monitored effectively to check the efficiency of it.

There are some legal rules and regulation initiated by the Victoria government to mitigate risks.

Agency audit committee

Under Ministry Standing Direction 2.2- Financial Governance, all the agencies have to maintain the exemption appointed by the audit committee for overseeing the public sector agencies controlling accountability (Morris, Beedell & Hess, 2016). The audit committee monitors the risks profile of the agencies and insurance arrangements.

Department of Treasury and Finance

The treasury and financial department of the agencies have to monitor on the transaction in the market by the agencies. There are various departments to control this process. For example, The Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) helps providing advices related to maintain and update the VGRMF for ensuring best practices in the Victoria government. The DTF helps in monitoring the compliance of Ministerial Standing Direction 3.7.1 by attesting the annual process and provides additional advices (DeAngelo & Stulz, 2015).

Victorian Managed Insurance Authority

The identification, managing and quantification of the risks in the management is done by some authority that helps in maintaining the risks involved in the state. For example, the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority Act 1996, the function of the act helps in assisting the established programs for identifying, managing and quantifying the risks involving in the governmental agencies framework (Calkin et al., 2014).

The State Crisis and Resilience Council

In an emergency, the government have to react fast in order to mitigate the risks involved in the region. There are some council involved for this purpose. For example, The State Crisis and Resilience Council (SCRC), helps in crisis and emergency due to the risks involved in the agencies. The CEO of Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) has the responsibility of monitoring this act in the region during an emergency (Glendon, Clarke & McKenna, 2016).

Conclusion

It can be concluded that many risks are prevailing in the Victoria Government that has been identified in the report. These risks are resolved with the help of risk management process. The various risks are mentioned in the report with its ranking in its ascending order. There are different models and approaches discussed that has helped in implementing the risk management framework. The risks management framework has helped in understanding the basic concept of the risk management in the Victoria Government. The changes are not done in the government due to the uncertainty of the risks in the environment. The information and data that are involved in the risk management are tangible in nature

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