# A Country Risk Assessment from the Perspective of Cybersecurity in Local Entities
## 1 Introduction  
At the present time, the Internet has brought about a revolution in all sectors with the digitization of services, improved mobility and accessibility of information [1]. However, it has also opened up new risks that need to be mitigated in these environments. Cybersecurity is an area of computer science that focuses on the protection of any computer infrastructure with tools that ensure the confidentiality, availability and integrity of information in both public and private organizations. Incidents of data breaches, unauthorized access and misconfiguration of technological infrastructures are reported with increasing frequency. It is irrelevant whether an affected entity operates in the private or public sector: it is equally exposed to cyber threats. In the context of public entities and according to several reports from globally recognized cybersecurity companies estimated that by 2024, more than 9% of attacks will target public sector organizations [2]. They also certify that such attacks have increased by 143% since 2022 [3]. Other reports focus more on the type and vector of attack, installing intelligence gathering probes to sample attack types. The results indicated that 85% of the attacks were external, exploiting system vulnerabilities, using social engineering or stealing devices. More than 60% of the assets under attack were web systems from a universe of 92 monitored public sector organizations [4]. Local authorities are responsible for the delivery of a range of essential services, including waste and water management, safety and traffic management, and social services. Nevertheless, the potential for exposure to cyber risks associated with technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) or SmartCities is increasing exponentially [5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10]. Some authors suggest that vulnerability information can be gathered from public sources such as the National Vulnerability Database, and that text streams derived from social networks or chats can be used to identify emerging attack patterns [11]. Other authors propose that risk assessment and risk management based on performance metrics should be conducted at an early stage of the software development lifecycle [12]. To optimize web services, it is necessary to gather analytical data throughout the end user's browsing experience in order to ascertain key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure the effectiveness of the service provided [13]. Additionally, the construction of both quantitative and qualitative models allows for the assessment of web analytics instruments, facilitating the management of risks and costs [14]. At the present time, no single, comprehensive register exists that documents all attacks against the public sector [15]. Nevertheless, several consequences resulting from these incidents have been documented in the media. On 5 September 2023, the Seville City Council in Spain was victim to a cyberattack, resulting in the complete disruption of all public services. The perpetrators of the attack demanded a ransom of EUR 5 million [16]. In other instances such as Washington County-Pennsylvania (USA), the ransom was evaluated by the commissioners and paid in order to decrypt the affected data [17]. Attacks on common cloud infrastructures, also referred to as the Westpole-PA incident [18], have affected thousands of Italian public entities [19]. The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) [20] is an organization that unites local government professionals with the objective of facilitating the prosperity of these entities on a global scale. The ICMA has conducted an in-depth analysis of the primary cybersecurity risks facing local entities globally. Their findings indicate a notable increase in the number of cyberattacks on local entities in the United States, with ransomware and its associated costs emerging as a significant concern. Additionally, the ICMA notes the existence of limitations in financial and strategic protection knowledge, which impede disaster resilience.