A Conceptual Interdisciplinary Plug-and-Play Cyber Security Framework

Abstract

Malicious cyber activities are no longer a matter of if but of when, and in our increasingly interconnected world, threats to our national sovereignty can come from unexpected sources and directions – a 360-degree globalised challenge. Cyber threats are increasingly important and strategically relevant in both developed and developing countries. Cyber security is one of the highest-priority items on the global policy and national security agendas, and an increasingly challenging policy area for governments. Our thesis is that cyber security is no longer the preserve of any single country, entity, (industry) sector or disciplinary field because of the nature and extent of an increasingly connected and sophisticated technological and user bases. There is, therefore, a need to bring together perspectives and approaches from different disciplines and countries, and investigate what we can do singularly and collaboratively to secure our cyber space and future. This essay proposes a conceptual framework that allows theories from different disciplines and different strategies, techniques and best practices to be “plugged-and-played” when studying/understanding and responding to malicious cyber activities. Three potential research topics are also identified to seek to provide more evidence to support the proposed framework.

Keywords: Cyber crime, Cyber threats, Cyber security, Cyber security framework, Interdisciplinary cyber security framework, Malicious cyber activities, National security

JEL Classification: C88, C89, K42, K49