Date

2-13-2026

Department

Helms School of Government

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration (PhD)

Chair

Sharon Mullane

Keywords

Smart technology, vulnerability, smart city, smart manufacturing, public policy, cyber threat, vulnerability, smart city, public policy, and cyber threat

Disciplines

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Abstract

Smart technology is everywhere. In the last decade, an amazing digital transformation swept across the globe, changing how people interact and shaping the public sector interaction between the local government and the constituency. Public administrators must contend with a new communication method that will impact the constituency. Smart technology is making the world convenient, more accessible, and more connected; however, smart technology is making the United States more vulnerable to advisories that seek to harm the free world. When viewed holistically, the vulnerability of smart technology is a national security concern. The United States is not leading the smart technology manufacturing effort; the reliance on a country like China further opens the aperture wider. Furthermore, the industry standard is non-existent regarding standard definitions, minimum requirements to identify a smart city, and a purchasing requirement to ensure foreign equipment is not corrupt. Without a figure of merit, public administrators leave the constituency vulnerable to nefarious actors. As the public sector moves toward a digital platform, the reliance on foreign countries to provide hardware grants a foreign entity defense leverage over the United States. This study is a quantitative assessment of the vulnerability of smart technology and the willingness of the constituency to assume the risk for convenience. Furthermore, this study will consider the confidence level of multiple generations of constituents adapting to smart technology in the public sector.

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