Examining the Security and Privacy Barriers of Third-Party Public Cloud Services A Case Study of Diverse Norwegian Municipalities

Abstract

This project conducts an exploratory case study to identify privacy and security barriers that Norwegian municipalities of varying sizes face while adopting third-party public cloud services. Government regulations hinder the complete adoption of cloud technology within municipalities. To counter these challenges, both municipalities and governments are actively working on developing innovative tools and procedures to alleviate these barriers and automate the procurement of cloud services. In conclusion, the study unveils the complex challenges that Norwegian municipalities face while adopting third-party public cloud services. It reveals that “legal and regulatory compliance”, the “lack of standardization and collaboration”, and the “legal complexity of laws and regulations” are common barriers for municipalities of all sizes. Additionally, many other identified barriers appeared random and not significantly influenced by the size of the municipalities. The insights gained from this research deepen our understanding of cloud security and privacy barriers and pave the way for evidence-based guidelines for successful cloud service adoption.