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The purpose of this paper is to position the preservation and protection of intellectual capital as a cyber security concern. The paper outlines the security requirements of intellectual capital to help boards of directors (BoDs) and executive management teams to understand their responsibilities and accountabilities in this respect.

The research methodology is desk research. In other words, we gathered facts and existing research publications that helped us to define key terms, to formulate arguments to convince BoDs of the need to secure their intellectual capital and to outline actions to be taken by BoDs to do so.

Intellectual capital, as a valuable business resource, is related to information, knowledge and cyber security. Hence, preservation thereof is also related to cyber security governance and merits attention from BoDs.

This paper clarifies BoDs intellectual capital governance responsibilities, which encompass information, knowledge and cyber security governance.

The authors hope that BoDs will benefit from the clarifications, and especially from the positioning of intellectual capital in cyber space.

If BoDs know how to embrace their intellectual capital governance responsibilities, this will help to ensure that such intellectual capital is preserved and secured.

This paper extends a previous paper published by Von Solms and Von Solms, which clarified the key terms of information and cyber security, and the governance thereof. The originality and value is the focus on the securing of intellectual capital, a topic that has not yet received a great deal of attention from security researchers.

Purpose: The study is designed to investigate internal audit functions in banks’ cyber security governance processes by assessing the pros and cons of blockchain technology through swot analysis.

Need of the Study: The study is needed to clarify the complexities in internal audit fields integrated into cyber security governance and explore the blockchain application opportunities.

Methodology: Blockchain technology is explored from the point of technical concepts and policy framework by swot analysis to propose a set of solutions for continuous audit methods in cyber security governance.

Limitations: The sample of this study is limited to the personal ideas and evaluations of academicians, experts in the banking sector and legal regulators of Türkiye, with the data received between March and December 2021.

Findings: Blockchain technology can be applied as an alternative to conventional risk control methods as a mechanism of continuous audit methods to reduce human mistakes and special causes.

Practical Implications: The control of risk management operations for cyber security processes should be performed with the support of audit units of the banks. Therefore, innovations are being implemented to cyber-risk controls to drop the defects that cause technical and ethical issues with blockchain technology as a way of using automation. So, this advancement can be applied in audit operations practically for unanticipated events which can emerge in cyberspace to mitigate inherent risk to residual levels. However, there is ample room to adapt this technology for cyber security management and audit practices from the point of view of the labour force, regulations and environmental issues.

As evident from the literature review, the research on cyber security performance is centered on security metrics, maturity models, etc. Essentially, all these are helpful for evaluating the efficiency of cyber security organization but what matters is how the factors of internal efficiency affect the business performance, i.e. the external effectiveness. The purpose of this research paper is to derive the factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness of cyber security and develop impact model to identify the most and least preferred parameters of internal efficiency with respect to all the parameters of external effectiveness.

There are two objectives for this research: Deriving the factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness of cyber security; Developing a model to identify the impact of internal efficiency factors on the external effectiveness of cyber security since there is not much evidence of research in defining the factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness of cyber security, the authors have chosen grounded theory methodology (GTM) to derive the parameters. In this study emic approach of GTM is followed and an algorithm is developed for administering the grounded theory research process. For the second research objective survey methodology and rank order was used to formulate the impact model. Two different samples and questionnaires were designed for each of the objectives.

For the objective 1, 11 factors of efficiency and 10 factors of effectiveness were derived. These are used as independent and dependent variable respectively in the later part of the research for the second objective. For the objective 2 the impact models among independent and dependent variables were formulated to find out the following. Most and least preferred parameters lead to internal efficiency of cyber security organization to identify the most and least preferred parameters of internal efficiency with respect to all the parameters external effectiveness.

The factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness constructed by using grounded theory cannot remain constant in the long run, because of dynamism of the domain itself. Over and above this, there are inherent limitations of the tools like grounded theory, used in the research. Few important limitations of GTM are as below in grounded theory, it is comparatively difficult to maintain and demonstrate the rigors of research discipline. The sheer volume of data makes the analysis and interpretation complex, and lengthy time consuming. The researchers’ presence during data gathering, which is often unavoidable and desirable too in qualitative research, may affect the subjects’ responses. The subjectivity of the data leads to difficulties in establishing reliability and validity of approaches and information. It is difficult to detect or to prevent researcher-induced bias.

The internal efficiency and external effectiveness factors of cyber security can be further correlated by the future researchers to understand the correlations among all the factors and predict cyber security performance. The grounded theory algorithm developed by us can be further used for qualitative research for deriving theory through abstractions in the areas where there is no sufficient availability of data. Practitioners of cyber security can use this research to focus on relevant areas depending on their respective business objective/requirements. The models developed by us can be used by the future researchers to for various sectoral validations and correlations.

Though the financial costs of a cyber-attack are steep, the social impact of cyber security failures is less readily apparent but can cause lasting damage to customers, employees and the company. Therefore, it is always important to be mindful of how the impact of cyber security affects society as well as the bottom line when they are calculating the potential impact of a breach. Underestimating either impact can destroy a brand. The factor of internal efficiency and external effectiveness derived by us will help stakeholder in focusing on relevant area depending on their business. The impact model developed in this research is very useful for focusing a particular business requirement and accordingly tune the efficiency factor.

During literature study the authors did not find any evidence of application of grounded theory approach in cyber security research. While the authors were exploring research literature to find out some insight into the factor of internal efficiency and external effectiveness of cyber security, the authors did not find concrete and objective research on this. This motivated us to use grounded theory to derive these factors. This, in the authors’ opinion is one of the pioneering and unique contribution to the research as to the authors’ knowledge no researchers have ever tried to use this methodology for the stated purpose and cyber security domain in general. In this process the authors have also developed an algorithm for administering GTM. Further developing impact models using factors of internal efficiency and external effectiveness has lots of managerial and practical implication.

The purpose of this paper is to define cybersecurity and cybersecurity governance in simplified terms – to explain to the boards of directors and executive management their responsibilities and accountabilities in this regard.

The primary research methodology utilized in this paper is desk research. A literature study is followed by some discussion in terms of the contribution made.

Clearly define the relationship between cybersecurity and information security, especially from a governance perspective.

The paper is based predominantly on an ISO standard.

The simplification of terminology to be used in the governance of cybersecurity, together with assistance to the guiding of boards of directors regarding their duties and responsibilities as far as cybersecurity is concerned.

Boards of Directors and other organisational leaders make decisions about the information security governance systems to implement in their companies. The increasing number of cyber-breaches targeting businesses makes this activity inescapable. Recently, researchers have published comprehensive lists of recommended cyber measures, specifically to inform organisational boards. However, the young cybersecurity industry has still to confirm and refine these guidelines. As a starting point, it would be helpful for organisational leaders to know what other organisations are doing in terms of using these guidelines. In an ideal world, bespoke surveys would be developed to gauge adherence to guidelines, but this is not always feasible. What we often do have is data from existing cybersecurity surveys. The authors argue that such data could be repurposed to quantify adherence to existing information security guidelines, and this paper aims to propose, and test, an original methodology to do so.

The authors propose a quantification mechanism to measure the degree of adherence to a set of published information security governance recommendations and guidelines targeted at organisational leaders. The authors test their quantification mechanism using a data set collected in a survey of 156 Italian companies on information security and privacy.

The evaluation of the proposed mechanism appears to align with findings in the literature, indicating the validity of the present approach. An analysis of how different industries rank in terms of their adherence to the selected set of recommendations and guidelines confirms the usability of our repurposed data set to measure adherence.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a quantification mechanism as the one proposed in this study has never been proposed, and tested, in the literature. It suggests a way to repurpose survey data to determine the extent to which companies are implementing measures recommended by published cybersecurity guidelines. This way, the proposed mechanism responds to increasing calls for the adoption of research practices that minimise waste of resources and enhance research sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to fill the need to identify critical information security issues at national level, both technical and social in the Indian context, and create a framework of these issues to provide interesting managerial insights about their hierarchy. Current literature advocates relevance of both technical and social issues in a potential framework to address national and organizational information security concerns. Such a framework can guide users in developing insight for strategy in the maize of important information security issues and their intricate interdependency.

Delphi methodology is used to identify a set of topical issues with help from members of a cyber security group. These issues are further analyzed using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to impose order and direction to the complex relationships among them.

The analysis using ISM creates a framework of these issues and provides interesting managerial insights about their hierarchy. These insights are used to recommend prioritized action for information security at national and organizational levels.

The highlight of this research is ingenious deployment of two idea engineering methods in developing interpretable structural model of 25 information security issues. This model provides valuable insights and can guide the policy formulation. This is the key contribution of this paper. It needs hardly any emphasis on the need for continuous search of all technical and social issues and formulating policies and programs using experts” judgment in a rigorous manner. Subsequent research may scale up to the global level for extension and validation by empanelling Delphi experts from nations belonging to different regions. Time-variant analysis can be attempted with the help of System Dynamics Modeling using causal-loop diagrams to account for the supportive and inhibiting influences of various issues. This approach has the potential to generate more realistic insights that can inform policy formulation.

It brings about key information security issues connected with its various facets, viz. national/organizational level initiatives, supportive processes, capabilities and objectives. These issues, identified by Indian experts in the Indian context, offer a method that one could apply in other national contexts and see whether substantial differences occur, and how other experts prioritize these issues. The analysis of social issues along with technical issues using the ISM tool provides us insights that are considered applicable to a larger context than India. The policy and program formulations in other nations can benefit from the insights generated by this research. The fast-paced proliferation of technology and its resultant vulnerabilities have given birth to an underground economy of malware trading by criminals, terrorists and hostile nation states. Secure cyber space for legitimate use by the globalized world can only be achieved by international cooperation.

A “digital divide” in cyber defense cannot be afforded. As explained earlier, cyber security is a challenge for both developed and developing nations. Prioritization of resources in a sequence suggested by ISM analysis would help face the challenge of cyber security better. The methodology suggested in this paper would ensure adequate response to cyber threats and eliminate knee-jerk reaction.

This research emphasizes identification of hierarchical relationship among the identified topical issues of information security rather than using them as a flat checklist. It helps us segregate the end objectives from root issues and highlights the necessity of addressing these root issues to achieve those objectives.

The purpose of this paper is to concentrate on the place of cyber security risk in the framework of global commitments adopted in 2015 to reduce disaster risks in an all-hazards approach. It explores the correlations between traditional risks associated with critical infrastructures – as understood by the Sendai framework – cyber security risks and the cascading effects characteristic of today’s complex and interrelated shocks and stresses. It takes a step further, expanding the focus of traditionally understood technological risks to explore cyber security risks, at the heart of our societies’ digital transformations,and showcase opportunities from the European context.

By reviewing existing literature on cyber security, disaster resilience and cascading disasters, this paper highlights current challenges and good practices undertaken by various governments.

Understanding disaster risks is a precondition to improving the mitigation of impacts of existing risks and preventing new risks. Effective risk reduction relies on a solid understanding of losses resulting from events to inform future actions, and on the assessment of risks relying on a robust evidence base and state-of-the-art scientific capacity to model and simulate potential hazards. In this context, embedding cyber security risks, and the complexity of cascading impacts in improving the understanding of disaster risks, calls for appropriate methods and tools allowing for a multi-risk and holistic focus to the assessment of risks and the planning of risk management capacities that follow.

Globally and in Europe, focus on interconnected risk and their impacts is steadily increasing. Risk assessments are still conservative; incorporation of cyber resilience into national and local level DRR plans is yet not visible.

Existing research is restricted to cyber security and disaster resilience, as separated subjects. This paper, for the first time, brings together the interconnection between the two topic options to address them.

There is a research gap in the explanation of cyber incident response approaches in management to increase cyber maturity for small–medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, based on the literature analysis, the chapter aims to (1) provide cyber incident response characteristics, (2) show the importance for SMEs, (3) identify cyber incident response feasibility and causal factors, (4) provide scenarios for consideration to create an incident response plan (IRP), and (5) discuss the cyber incident response and managerial approaches in SMEs. The authors used content analysis of scientific and professional articles to develop the theoretical foundation of incident response approaches in management for SMEs. The authors start from the fundamentals to obtain knowledge and understanding of the latest threats and opportunities, and how to defend themselves using the limited capacity of resources might be the starting point to building an extensive incident response capability. Incident response capabilities and maturity levels vary widely between various organisations. There is no simple one-size-fits-all process for incident response; each case is unique and requires continuous refinement. Differentiation and adaptation to different types of SMEs are pivotal to developing cyber maturity and defining requirements that fit the market’s needs and are therefore more efficient in achieving the goal of increasing cyber security (CS) among business management. SMEs may not have a mature IRP, but at least one readiness indicator could lead to the preparation of a mature IRP. Implementation of the secure undertakings and information processes requires using modern information and communication technologies, incident response processes, and other modules that could enhance support for decision-making processes in management. The approach requires a systematic approach to issues related to constructing these solutions. The authors highlight that building efficient incident response approaches in management to improve cyber maturity will begin with infrastructure and people factors.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential of cyber-testing techniques in assessing the effectiveness of cyber-security controls and obtaining audit evidence.

The paper starts with an identification of the applicable cyber-testing techniques and evaluates their applicability to generally accepted assurance schemes and cyber-security guidelines.

Cyber-testing techniques are providing insight in the effectiveness of the actual implementation of cyber-security controls, which may significantly deviate from the conceptual designs of these controls. Furthermore, cyber-testing techniques could provide concise input for cyber-risk management and improvement recommendations.

The presented cyber-testing techniques could complement traditional process-oriented assurance techniques with specialized technical analyses of real-world implementations that focus on the adversaries’ viewpoint.

This study aims to define objectively what are the elements that should be considered in the repositioning of international cooperation, less under its value, which is unquestionable, but more under the optics of the procedure, how can it be operationalized. International cooperation goes beyond the regulatory effort, which, although an important step, is insufficient. It is inserted in an environment in which there is a multiplicity of forces and instances, non-converging and tensioned. At the same time, in the authors’ view, it is not about cooperation between states or between states and international organizations only, it must understand the private sector equally, which has the expressive property of the technologies used.

The study uses an interdisciplinary approach, and the method of analysis is the typothetical deductive.

Cybersecurity as a global and complex issue demands cooperation between nations, but also the private sector and civil society engagement. It also demands a good governance in the decision making process, more integrated, accurated and precised.

This study is original, and it represents a special concern and vision from professional and academic fields.