Abstract
The availability of public services through online platforms has improved the coverage and efficiency of essential services provided to citizens worldwide. These services also promote transparency and foster citizen participation in government processes. However, the increased online presence also exposes sensitive data exchanged between citizens and service providers to a wider range of security threats. Therefore, ensuring the security and trustworthiness of online services is crucial to Electronic Government (EGOV) initiatives' success. Hence, this work assesses the security posture of online platforms hosted in 3068 governmental domain names, across all UN Member States, in three dimensions: support for secure communication protocols; the trustworthiness of their digital certificate chains; and services' exposure to known vulnerabilities. The results indicate that despite its rapid development, the public sector still falls short in adopting international standards and best security practices in services and infrastructure management. This reality poses significant risks to citizens and services across all regions and income levels.

Abstract
The fast global expansion of online public services has transformed how governments interact with citizens, offering convenience and efficiency. However, this digital transformation also introduces significant security risks, as sensitive data exchanged between users and service providers over public networks are exposed to cyber threats. Thus, ensuring the security and trustworthiness of these services is critical to the success of Electronic Government (EGOV) initiatives. This study evaluates the information security posture of 3068 public service platforms across all 193 UN Member States through non-intrusive assessments conducted in 2023 and 2024. The evaluation focuses on three key dimensions: (i) the adoption of secure end-to-end communication protocols, (ii) the trustworthiness of digital certificate chains, and (iii) the exposure of hosting servers to known vulnerabilities. The findings reveal that while some progress has been made in securing online public services, substantial gaps remain in the implementation of international security standards and best practices. Many platforms continue to rely on outdated cryptographic protocols, misconfigured certificates, and unpatched vulnerabilities, leaving citizens and services vulnerable to cyber threats due to weaknesses that malicious actors can easily and inconspicuously identify. These insights emphasize the need for effective implementation of more comprehensive cybersecurity policies, proactive security assessments, and improved regulatory compliance checks. Additionally, this work provides actionable guidance for governments and system administrators to enhance the security of EGOV infrastructures by addressing persistent vulnerabilities and adopting robust cybersecurity practices.

Abstract
The existence of internal helpdesk teams is a common occurrence in companies nowadays, especially when considering the IT sector. These teams are an expensive resource and are only able to serve a limited number of users at a given moment, which evidences the importance of helpdesk teams operating as efficiently as possible. A common occurrence in the daily operations of these teams consists in the existence of a set of repeated tasks that could be automated through the usage of a chatbot capable of acting on behalf of helpdesk team members. By allowing a chatbot to perform some of these repeated actions, helpdesk teams are able to focus on other tasks, thus allowing to increase their productivity. Additionally, the usage of chatbots to assist a helpdesk team creates a highly available tool, capable of giving answers in a short time frame. In this paper, the design and implementation of such a tool is presented, including concepts and approaches related to chatbot development. As a result, a fully functional chatbot named Triton was produced, capable of helping employees of a consulting company with helpdesk-related problems and questions. Copyright © (2022) by International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS). All rights reserved.