A Case for Societal Digital Security Culture

Information and communication technology systems, such as remote health care monitoring and smart mobility applications, have become indispensable parts of our lives. Security vulnerabilities in these systems could cause financial losses, privacy/safety compromises, and operational interruptions. This paper demonstrates through examples, that technical security solutions for these information systems, alone, are not sufficient to protect individuals and their assets from attacks. It proposes to complement (usable) technical solutions with Societal Digital Security Culture (SDSC): collective knowledge, common practices, and intuitive common behavior about digital security that the members of a society share. The paper also suggests a set of approaches for improving SDSC in a society and demonstrates using a case study how the suggested approaches could be integrated to compose a plan for improving SDSC.