Government and Public Sector Cyber Security

How SoSafe helps

Solutions for your government cyber security risks

From the counter to the depot

A teacher, a road maintenance worker and a caseworker work for the same administration, yet only one of them sits at a desk all day. Public sector cyber security has to reach all three. They enrol without a work email, learn in one to eight minutes and use a platform with an independent accessibility audit and documentation.

Simulations that look like official business

Nobody in a citizen service centre leaves an application unanswered, and attackers know it. SoSafe phishing simulations imitate such messages, for example an application with an attachment, and adapt to how each person reacted before. Anyone who clicks sees a learning page on what gave the message away.

Evidence that behaviour changes

An attendance list shows who completed a course, not who would report a suspicious email tomorrow. For government cyber security, the Human Security Index combines simulation responses, reported threats and learning progress into one figure that leadership can follow over the year.

SoSafe learning path with achievements beside an interactive lesson asking what to do about a QR code on a café table

Simulated phishing email in Outlook with a SoSafe hint explaining how to spot a counterfeit sender

SoSafe Human Security Index dashboard with awareness, behaviour and culture scores and suggested interventions

From the counter to the depot

A teacher, a road maintenance worker and a caseworker work for the same administration, yet only one of them sits at a desk all day. Public sector cyber security has to reach all three. They enrol without a work email, learn in one to eight minutes and use a platform with an independent accessibility audit and documentation.

Simulations that look like official business

Nobody in a citizen service centre leaves an application unanswered, and attackers know it. SoSafe phishing simulations imitate such messages, for example an application with an attachment, and adapt to how each person reacted before. Anyone who clicks sees a learning page on what gave the message away.

Evidence that behaviour changes

An attendance list shows who completed a course, not who would report a suspicious email tomorrow. For government cyber security, the Human Security Index combines simulation responses, reported threats and learning progress into one figure that leadership can follow over the year.

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THE CHALLENGE

Where attacks on public administrations usually begin

Public services that depend on systems

Public administration remained the most targeted sector in the EU in 2025, with 31.8% of all events ENISA recorded. Most were ideology-driven DDoS attacks on websites and portals. Only a small share of incidents was financially motivated, but among those, ransomware claims accounted for 36% and mainly affected municipalities (ENISA Threat Landscape 2026, September 2026). Once systems are encrypted, services such as registrations or payments can stop until recovery is complete.

Messages that cannot wait

Opening messages from strangers is part of the job in a public administration. Residents send applications and objections with attachments, and other authorities send notices that need an answer by a deadline. Among the social engineering techniques ENISA recorded in 2025, phishing accounted for 77.8%. Messages written with AI tools now copy the tone of official correspondence with few mistakes.

Payments, tenders and a new bank account

Finance and procurement teams handle invoices, tender documents and changes to supplier details. A letter announcing a supplier’s new bank account works as a lure, and so does an urgent payment request in the name of a head of department. This is a common pattern of CEO fraud, and the money is usually gone before anyone calls back to check.

One supplier, many authorities

Many administrations share IT service providers. In 2025, ENISA reports, a ransomware attack on a Swedish IT supplier affected around 200 municipalities and regional authorities and disrupted systems used for HR reporting. Attackers also call staff as supposed helpdesk agents of such providers and ask for login codes. Vishing of this kind becomes more convincing with voice cloning.

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WHO GETS TRAINED

Public sector cyber security training for every department

At the counter and in case handling

Staff in citizen services, registration, permits and social services work with personal data and open attachments from residents every day. Simulations reflect that work. The lessons practise a short check before a file is opened or data is passed on, even when someone is waiting at the counter.

Accounts payable, procurement and HR

An email asks HR to pay this month’s salary into a new account, and it appears to come from a colleague. Accounts payable and procurement receive similar requests in a supplier’s name. Before anything is paid or changed, these teams learn to check back through a number or contact they already know.

Away from the desk

Many teachers, depot crews and field officers have never had a work email address, which doesn’t stop them from enrolling. A lesson runs on a phone or on a shared tablet in the staff room. Smishing simulations reach them by text message, the channel they actually use during the day. Printable materials cover teams who rarely use a screen at work.

Leadership, elected officials and IT

Where NIS2 applies, members of the management body have to follow training. Senior officials get a shorter track built around their responsibility for cyber risk, and elected representatives who use the administration’s systems can take part as well. Public sector IT security teams with privileged access go deeper.

Our product

How SoSafe works day-to-day

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Lessons between two appointments

Lessons adapt to role, prior knowledge and risk profile. A caseworker and a teacher see different content, one to eight minutes at a time, in 34+ languages.

Smartphone showing a short SoSafe security lesson in progress with a progress bar

A real attack, rebuilt as practice

When a phishing email reaches your administration, for example a fake notice from another authority, the security team can rebuild it as a simulation in a few minutes and send it to the people it targeted.

SoSafe phishing simulation editor with a draft email imitating a supplier

A practice call without phone numbers

The Interactive Vishing Lesson ends with a realistic call in the browser, such as a supposed helpdesk agent from your IT provider who asks for a login code. No phone numbers are needed. It builds the habit of checking but records no failure rate.

Interactive vishing lesson showing an incoming IT support call beside the response options in the browser

Your service rules as lessons

Upload a rule as a PDF, such as your guidance on AI tools and citizens’ data. Policy-to-Lesson creates an editable draft that you review before publishing, in the languages enabled for your account.

SoSafe Policy-to-Lesson view turning an uploaded policy into a security lesson

One button for suspicious emails

Staff flag a suspicious message with one button in their email client. All reports land in a single triage queue, so even a small security team sees them in one place and decides what needs action.

The SoSafe report button in an email toolbar with a cursor selecting it

Reports for audits and leadership

An ISO/IEC 27001 report takes one click, and training and simulation results can be exported for audits and leadership reviews.

SoSafe Human Security Index dashboard with awareness, behaviour and culture scores over time

“In a crisis, no technology will help you – only resilient colleagues who keep a cool head even in such a stressful situation, apply what they have learned, and do their best to get the company back on track. SoSafe is the solution provider that helps us to get there quickly and to engage our employees in an appealing way.”

Jens Feistel

CISO at DEW21, a municipally owned energy supplier in Germany

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88%

knowledge retention after 12 months

90%

reduction in risky interactions

80%

reporting threats within 12 months

15 min

per week to run the full programme

Measurable impact for public administrations

In government cyber security, leadership and auditors look for evidence that behaviour changes, not only attendance lists. SoSafe is trusted by more than 6,000 organisations worldwide, and the figures below come from aggregated data across their live programmes in all sectors.

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Connected to the systems public administrations already run

Cybersecurity for government agencies has to fit into an IT landscape that a small team or an external provider often runs. SoSafe connects with your identity provider, your HR system for user provisioning and the collaboration tools your staff use. If you run your own learning platform, lessons can be exported as SCORM packages.

Integrations

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Phishing simulation integration with Microsoft 365

Compliance

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GDPR Compliant

German Engineered

EU Hosted

Government and public sector cyber security FAQs

The biggest cyber security threats for government and public sector organisations are DDoS attacks by hacktivists, ransomware and data breaches. ENISA counted public administration as the most targeted sector in the EU in 2025, and ransomware mainly hit municipalities. Many attacks start with an email or a call to one employee, so public sector cyber security depends on how people respond.

Cyber security is important for the government because citizens depend on public services and entrust authorities with personal data they cannot take elsewhere. If a municipality’s systems are encrypted, nobody can register a move or apply for benefits until they are restored. Weak cyber security in the government sector also costs trust. Where NIS2 applies, government cyber security sits with leadership, which approves and oversees the measures.

NIS2 applies to public administration at central government level, whatever its size. A regional authority falls within the scope of NIS2 if a risk-based assessment shows that disrupting its services could significantly affect critical societal or economic activities. Member States can add local authorities. Courts, parliaments, central banks and bodies in defence, national security or law enforcement are excluded. Fines and government cyber security duties vary by country.

Public sector organisations usually choose a security awareness training provider through a procurement process, in which several providers are measured against criteria set in advance. Buyers typically check where data is hosted, whether training is accessible and reaches staff without a work email, how much administration it needs and whether reports show behaviour change rather than completion alone. SoSafe approaches government cyber security as Human Risk Management.

Training data is stored in certified data centres in the EU. SoSafe is built in Germany, has its headquarters in the EU and follows a GDPR-by-default approach. Every provider that processes data on SoSafe’s behalf is named in a public list of sub-processors, and data is encrypted in transit and at rest. SoSafe itself is certified to ISO/IEC 27001.

Whether you need a separate provider if you already use Microsoft 365 depends on what you have to show. SoSafe works inside Microsoft 365: users are synchronised from Entra ID, and staff report suspicious emails from their inbox. It adds role-based lessons, SMS simulations, a practice call and a Human Security Index that shows behaviour change in public sector cyber security.

Pricing depends on your workforce size and selected package. Request a quote reflecting your departments, municipal companies and any mid-term additions. Multi-year commitments provide price protection for the agreed term.