Government has become increasingly mobile.
Whether supporting international trade missions, collaborating with allied agencies, responding to emergencies across borders, or working from secure facilities and remote locations, today's public sector employees are expected to operate wherever the mission takes them.
As they move, their devices move with them.
But here's the question many organisations aren't asking:
When a government-issued device enters a new jurisdiction, does its security posture change too?
For many agencies, the answer is no.
Mobile devices often retain the same security policies regardless of where they are, or they rely on employees to manually enable VPNs, adjust settings, or follow location-specific procedures. In an environment where cybersecurity threats continue to evolve and governments face increasing scrutiny around privacy, data sovereignty, and sensitive information, that approach leaves far too much to chance.
The Gap Between Mobility and Security
To better understand how organisations are addressing this challenge, we recently asked government and public sector professionals a simple question:
"When your employees' devices enter a new jurisdiction, what happens to their security policies?"
The responses revealed a surprising level of uncertainty.
- 36% said security policies adjust automatically.
- 21% said users must enable them manually.
- 7% said nothing changes.
- 36% weren't sure what happens.
That means 57% of respondents either rely on manual action or don't know whether their mobile security adapts at all.
For organisations responsible for protecting sensitive government information, uncertainty is a risk in itself.
Why Jurisdiction Matters
Crossing into a new jurisdiction isn't simply a change in geography, it can also mean a change in legal authority, privacy obligations, cybersecurity risk, and operational requirements.
An employee travelling internationally may suddenly be subject to different data privacy laws, customs inspections, or compelled access requirements. A device moving from a secure government facility to a public Wi-Fi network faces a very different threat environment. Even travelling between jurisdictions can introduce new requirements for how sensitive information is stored, accessed, or transmitted.
Yet in many organisations, the mobile device behaves exactly the same regardless of where it is.
The burden often falls on the employee to remember what actions to take, when to take them, and why they matter.
That's asking people to solve a technology problem.
Security Should Adapt Automatically
Government employees should be focused on serving the public and not on remembering which security settings need to change before crossing a border or connecting to an unfamiliar network.
Modern context-aware security removes that burden.
By understanding where a device is operating and the environment around it, organisations can automatically adjust security policies without requiring any action from the user.
For example, agencies can automatically:
- Apply different security policies when devices enter another country or jurisdiction.
- Restrict access to sensitive applications outside trusted geographic areas.
- Increase protections when devices leave secure government facilities or connect to public networks.
- Support data sovereignty requirements by applying location-specific controls.
- Create an auditable record showing that policies were enforced automatically throughout the device's journey.
Instead of relying on employees to remember procedures, organisations can ensure security policies respond consistently and immediately to changing conditions.
The Future of Government Security Is Context-Aware
Governments have invested heavily in mobile technology, cloud services, and digital transformation initiatives.
The next step isn't adding more security tools.
It's making existing security tools aware of context.
When security policies can automatically respond to where a device is, the type of network it's connects to, and the jurisdiction in which it is operating, agencies are better positioned to protect sensitive information, support privacy compliance, and reduce operational risk, without adding friction for employees.
Because government work doesn't stop at jurisdictional boundaries.
Your security shouldn't either.
Is Your Agency Ready?
If your employees ever travel internationally, work across multiple jurisdictions, or move between secure and public environments, it may be time to evaluate whether your mobile security adapts as quickly as they do.
Our Jurisdictional Mobile Risk Review helps public sector organisations identify gaps in location-aware security, strengthen data sovereignty protections, and automate policy enforcement wherever their mission takes them.