Cyberattacks: An Attempt to Obtain a Multidimensional Awareness Indicator

Cybersecurity is playing an increasing role in society today. Private individuals and small to medium-sized enterprises often do not have the staffing capacity to install their information security team, including IT administrators, who could protect the enterprise against cyberattacks. A crucial step toward improving the company’s defenses against cyberattacks is to increase the information security awareness of all employees. The present study focuses on a method defining a multidimensional awareness indicator applying Rasch and partial order methodology. The method is designed to suggest in a graphic form how awareness can be “sharpened” in the company through a multidimensional awareness indicator, derived from questionnaires. A two-step procedure is presented, involving the analysis of questionnaires and, subsequently, displaying an awareness indicator.