Security is costly, but must be addressed in the design phase, as security breaches can shatter public trust in e-government.

Trust is a vitally important component of e-government projects. Without trust, citizens who may already be leery of using technology may avoid and even shun the use of online services that ask for detailed personal information.Transparency

Government transparency should be embedded in the design of ICT systems.

Citizens too rarely understand how government decisions are made. This lack of transparency prevents the public from actively participating in government and from raising questions or protesting unfair or ill-advised decisions. A lack of transparency can conceal official graft or favoritism.

E-government can play an essential role in revealing to the public the policies their government is adopting or the actions the government is taking. South Korea, for example, reduced corruption by reorganizing government activities such as licensing and permit approval, and creating an online monitoring system to track each application. This program succeeded in reducing the number of bribes and collusion among corrupt bureaucrats because officials could now be held personally accountable for actions.