Applying Systems Thinking to enhance the understanding of Cyber Resilience in Socio-technical Systems

Abstract

Cyber resilience in the context of an organisation is much more than solely technical security measures. It requires a holistic approach that includes additional factors together in a coherent whole to manage both known and unknown cyber risks in today’s evolving threat landscape. The purpose of this study is to enhance an understanding of socio-technical factors influencing an organisation which contribute to cyber resilience, and the relationships among these factors.This investigation took the form of a qualitative case-study to apply systems thinking through modelling a causal loop diagram (CLD). Socio-technical aspects of organisations were found to be strongly associated with an organisational cyber resilience. The findings of this study also shown that combining a socio-technical perspective and cyber resilience through modelling a CLD may well have a potential to extend the understanding of organisational cyber resilience. Further investigation and modelling work will be needed to validate the findings of this research with each key factor being examined in greater detail.