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This paper aims to explore the evolution of a trend in which countries are developing or adopting cybersecurity implementation frameworks that are intended to be used nationally. This paper contrasts the cybersecurity frameworks that have been developed in three countries, namely, Australia, UK and USA.

The paper uses literature review and qualitative document analysis for the study. The paper developed and used an assessment matrix as its coding protocol. The contents of the three cybersecurity frameworks were then scored to capture the degree to which they covered the themes/items of the cybersecurity assessment matrix.

The analysis found that the three cybersecurity frameworks are oriented toward the risk management approach. However, the frameworks also had notable differences with regard to the security domains that they cover. For example, one of the frameworks did not offer guidelines with regard to what to do to respond to attacks or to plan for recovery.

The results of this study are beneficial to policymakers in the three countries targeted, as they are able to gain insights about how their cybersecurity frameworks compares to those of the other two countries. Such knowledge would be useful as decision-makers take steps to improve their existing frameworks. The results of this study are also beneficial to executives who have branches in all three countries. In such cases, security professionals could deploy the most comprehensive framework across all three countries and then extend the deployment in each location to meet country-specific requirements.

Purpose: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the most significant contributors to maximum employment generation, the gross domestic product (GDP) of many countries, and the overall global economy. It is also evident that cyber threats are becoming a big challenge for SMEs, which is directly impacting global economy.

Methodology: Existing research inputs were accessed to understand current cyber threats for SMEs and their cybersecurity posture. Additionally, this research has collected the latest insights by taking direct inputs from SMEs and conducting a well-designed research survey. It has provided a few direct inputs to designing solutions for the SME segment. For analysis and recommendations, cybersecurity best practices and core cybersecurity concepts are considered at the centre of the solution.

Findings: Implementing existing cybersecurity standards or frameworks is not easy for SMEs, as they generally have limited resources and different priorities for their business when it comes to the implementation of any cybersecurity controls. Currently, many cybersecurity standards are not able to support the implementation of business domain-specific controls.

Practical implications: Along with the research findings shared in this chapter, as a resolution to the problems faced by SMEs, the authors will propose a new framework as a solution. This framework is designed using core concepts of cybersecurity such as confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA triad) as well as defence in depth (DiD) mechanisms in each layer of organisation. The authors will also share a high-level idea about how reliable artificial intelligence-based software can help identify recommended controls for particular SMEs.

This purpose of this paper is to provide insight through analysis of the data collected from a pilot study, into the decision-making process used by organizations in cybersecurity investments. Leveraging the review of literature, this paper aims to explore the strategic decisions made by organizations when implementing cybersecurity controls, and identifies economic models and theories from the economics of information security, and information security investment decision-making process. Using a survey study method, this paper explores the feasibility for development of a strategic decision-making framework that may be used when evaluating and implementing cybersecurity measures.

A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the ways in which decisions are made as it relates to cybersecurity spending. The purpose of the pilot study was to determine the feasibility for developing a strategic framework to minimize cybersecurity risks. Phase 1 – Interview Study: The qualitative approach focused on seven participants who provided input to refine the survey study questionnaire. Phase 2 – Survey Study: The qualitative approach focused on information gathered through an online descriptive survey study using a five-point Likert scale.

The literature review identified that there is limited research in the area of information security decision making. One paper was identified within this area, focusing on the research completed by Dor and Elovici [22]. This exploratory research demonstrates that although organizations have actively implemented cybersecurity frameworks, there is a need to enhance the decision-making process to reduce the number and type of breaches, along with strengthening the cybersecurity framework to facilitate a preventative approach.

The partnership research design could be expanded to facilitate quantitative and qualitative techniques in parallel with equal weight, leveraging qualitative techniques, an interview study, case study and grounded theory. In-depth data collection and analysis can be completed to facilitate a broader data collection which will provide a representative sample and achieve saturation to ensure that adequate and quality data are collected to support the study. Quantitative analysis through statistical techniques (i.e. regression analysis) taking into account, the effectiveness of cybersecurity frameworks, and the effectiveness of decisions made by stakeholders on implementing cybersecurity measures.

This exploratory research demonstrates that organizations have actively implemented cybersecurity measure; however, there is a need to reduce the number and type of breaches, along with strengthening the cybersecurity framework to facilitate a preventative approach. In addition, factors that are used by an organization when investing in cybersecurity controls are heavily focused on compliance with government and industry regulations along with opportunity cost. Lastly, the decision-making process used when evaluating, implementing and investing in cybersecurity controls is weighted towards the technology organization and, therefore, may be biased based on competing priorities.

The outcome of this study provides greater insight into how an organization makes decisions when implementing cybersecurity controls. This exploratory research shows that most organizations are diligently implementing security measures to effectively monitor and detect cyber security attacks. The pilot study revealed that the importance given to the decisions made by the CIO and Head of the Business Line have similar priorities with regard to funding the investment cost, implementing information security measures and reviewing the risk appetite statement. This parallel decision-making process may potentially have an adverse impact on the decision to fund cybersecurity measures, especially in circumstances where the viewpoints are vastly different .

Cybersecurity spend is discussed across the literature, and various approaches, methodologies and models are used. The aim of this paper is to explore the strategic decision-making approach that is used by organizations when evaluating and implementing cybersecurity measures. Using a survey study method, this paper explores the feasibility for development of a strategic decision-making framework that may be used when evaluating and implementing cybersecurity measures.

This study aims to propose a cybersecurity framework that prioritizes sustainability in the manufacturing sector by identifying necessary resources and capabilities for effective cybersecurity management. The proposed framework aims to enhance resource protection and safeguard data confidentiality, integrity and accessibility, provide proactive steps for predicting cyber threats and highlight the importance of educating employees at all levels of the organization.

A thorough review of existing literature and analysis was conducted to develop the proposed cybersecurity framework. Several frameworks, including the NIST cybersecurity framework, were reviewed to identify the necessary skills and resources required to combat cyber threats and keep businesses sustainable.

The proposed framework includes proactive steps, such as predicting cyber threats, and emphasizes the importance of educating employees and raising awareness at all levels of the organization. Resilience is also emphasized, which refers to an organization's ability to recover and continue operations following a cyberattack. Implementing this framework may require a significant budget and time investment, and small organizations may face limitations in applying all aspects of the framework.

This study proposes a cybersecurity framework that prioritizes sustainability in the manufacturing sector, which provides added protection for organizations. The framework's key functions can be adopted partially or fully, making it suitable for organizations of varying sizes. Future research can focus on addressing the framework's limitations and shortcomings to further reduce cyber risks for sustainable manufacturing, establishing the scale of an industry based on its economy and extending the framework to non-manufacturing businesses.

For many innovative organisations, Industry 4.0 paves the way for significant operational efficiencies, quality of goods and services and cost reductions. One of the ways to realise these benefits is to embark on digital transformation initiatives that may be summed up as the intelligent interconnectivity of people, processes, data and cyber-connected things. Sadly, this interconnectivity between the enterprise information technology (IT) and industrial control systems (ICS) environment introduces new attack surfaces for critical infrastructure (CI) operators. As a result of the ICS cybersecurity risk introduced by the interconnectivity between the enterprise IT and ICS networks, the purpose of this study is to identify the cybersecurity capabilities that CI operators must have to attain good cybersecurity resilience.

A scoping literature review of best practice international CI protection frameworks, standards and guidelines were conducted. Similar cybersecurity practices from these frameworks, standards and guidelines were grouped together under a corresponding National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework (CF) practice. Practices that could not be categorised under any of the existing NIST CF practices were considered new insights, and therefore, additions.

A CI cybersecurity capability framework comprising 29 capability domains (cybersecurity focus areas) was developed as an adaptation of the NIST CF with an added dimension. This added dimension emphasises cloud computing and internet of things (IoT) security. Each of the 29 cybersecurity capability domains is executed through various capabilities (cybersecurity processes and procedures). The study found that each cybersecurity capability can further be operationalised by a set of cybersecurity controls derived from various frameworks, standards and guidelines, such as COBIT®, CIS®, ISA/IEC 62443, ISO/IEC 27002 and NIST Special Publication 800-53.

CI sectors are immediately able to adopt the CI cybersecurity capability framework to evaluate their levels of resilience against cyber-attacks, given new attack surfaces introduced by the interconnectivity of cyber-connected things between the enterprise and ICS levels.

The authors present an added dimension to the NIST framework for CI cyber protection. In addition to emphasising cryptography, IoT and cloud computing security aspects, this added dimension highlights the need for an integrated approach to CI cybersecurity resilience instead of a piecemeal approach.

The development of new technologies directly contributed to the emergence of advanced instruments, which in turn enabled the rise of new solutions associated with Industry 4.0 (I4.0). These technologies associated with I4.0 are adapted and used by individual users in diverse ways. Many determinants influence this diversity. One of the significant elements impacting such behaviour is age.

The main objective of this chapter is twofold. Firstly, it is to evaluate the differences among the four generational cohorts in how they use I4.0 tools, and secondly, to develop a conceptual framework of interdependencies between diverse I4.0 tools, their use – along with preferences and attitudes – and the generations as a moderate variable that influences the tools' use. In this chapter, we employ an inductive approach and apply the literature studies according to the SALSA method. This research contributes to the existing literature by framing the interdependencies between individuals' attitudes, their use of I4.0 tools and their age.

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 paper aims to explore the factors affecting cybersecurity implementation in organizations in various countries and develop a cybersecurity framework to improve cybersecurity practices within organizations for cybersecurity risk management through a systematic literature review (SLR) approach.

This SLR adhered to RepOrting Standards for Systematics Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) publication standards and used various research approaches. The study’s article selection process involved using Scopus, one of the most important scientific databases, to review articles published between 2014 and 2023.

This review identified the four main themes: individual factors, organizational factors, technological factors and governmental role. In addition, nine subthemes that relate to these primary topics were established.

This research sheds light on the multifaceted nature of cybersecurity by exploring factors influencing implementation and developing an improvement framework, offering valuable insights for researchers to advance theoretical developments, assisting industry practitioners in tailoring cybersecurity strategies to their needs and providing policymakers with a basis for creating more effective cybersecurity regulations and standards.

This study aims to develop a framework for cybersecurity risk assessment in an organization. Existing cybersecurity frameworks are complex and implementation oriented. The framework can be systematically used to assess the strategic orientation of a firm with respect to its cybersecurity posture. The goal is to assist top-management-team with tailoring their decision-making about security investments while managing cyber risk at their organization.

A thematic analysis of existing publications using content analysis techniques generates the initial set of keywords of significance. Additional factor analysis using the keywords provides us with a framework comprising of five pillars comprising prioritize, resource, implement, standardize and monitor (PRISM) for assessing a firm’s strategic cybersecurity orientation.

The primary contribution is the development of a novel PRISM framework, which enables cyber decision-makers to identify and operationalize a tailored approach to address risk management and cybersecurity problems. PRISM framework evaluation will help organizations identify and implement the most tailored risk management and cybersecurity approach applicable to their problem(s).

The new norm is for companies to realize that data stratification in cyberspace extends throughout their organizations, intertwining their need for cybersecurity within business operations. This paper fulfills an identified need improve the ability of company leaders, as CIOs and others, to address the growing problem of how organizations can better handle cyber threats by using an approach that is a methodology for cross-organization cybersecurity risk management.