Seminar “Characterizing key societal factors for cybersecurity commitment”
Our partner Irene Spada from the University of Pisa, and member of the research lab Business Engineering for Data Science (B4DS), presented the study “Characterizing Key Societal Factors for Cybersecurity Commitment“, at the University Charles III of Madrid, last May 23.
The rise of cyber-threats in recent years is leading to increased concerns about security in both the private and public sectors, as well as for individuals and society as a whole. However, little attention has been paid to the cultural factors that influence national commitment and capacity building to face cybersecurity challenges.
In order to address this gap in understanding, Irene Spada together with Gualtiero Fantoni, Associate Professor of the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering at the University of Pisa and coordinator of the ASSETs+ project, and José María de Fuentes and Lorena González, Associate Professors of the Department of Computer Science at the University Charles III of Madrid, have studied the links between the culture values of 81 countries worldwide and their cybersecurity policies, in order to assess the commitment of these countries to the cyber domain.
The analysis involves the use of statistical techniques and open access repositories of metrics as well as indicators of countries and population development to model and measure the relationship between culture and cybersecurity.
The results demonstrate that indeed there is a statistically significant relationship between culture and cybersecurity. The key factors that shape this relationship include different countrie’s cultural values, the political systems with its characteristics, and aspects of their military. Moreover, the key factors identified may act both as drivers and blockers for the cybersecurity commitment and skill development of a country.
