Mind the Gap: Revealing Security Barriers through Situational Awareness of Small and Medium Business Key Decision-Makers
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866913889538539520 |
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| author | Chang, Yuanhaur Heller, Oren Shlomo, Yaniv Bar-Noy, Iddo Bokobza, Ella Grinstein-Weiss, Michal Zhang, Ning |
| author_facet | Chang, Yuanhaur Heller, Oren Shlomo, Yaniv Bar-Noy, Iddo Bokobza, Ella Grinstein-Weiss, Michal Zhang, Ning |
| contents | Key decision-makers in small and medium businesses (SMBs) often lack the awareness and knowledge to implement cybersecurity measures effectively. To gain a deeper understanding of how SMB executives navigate cybersecurity decision-making, we deployed a mixed-method approach, conducting semi-structured interviews (n=21) and online surveys (n=322) with SMB key decision-makers. Using thematic analysis, we revealed SMB decision-makers' perceived risks in terms of the digital assets they valued, and found reasons for their choice of defense measures and factors impacting security perception. We employed the situational awareness model to characterize decision-makers based on cybersecurity awareness, identifying those who have comparatively low awareness in the fight against adversaries. We further explored the relationship between awareness and business attributes, and constructed a holistic structural equation model to understand how awareness can be improved. Finally, we proposed interventions to help SMBs overcome potential challenges. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_10025 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Mind the Gap: Revealing Security Barriers through Situational Awareness of Small and Medium Business Key Decision-Makers Chang, Yuanhaur Heller, Oren Shlomo, Yaniv Bar-Noy, Iddo Bokobza, Ella Grinstein-Weiss, Michal Zhang, Ning Cryptography and Security Computers and Society Human-Computer Interaction Key decision-makers in small and medium businesses (SMBs) often lack the awareness and knowledge to implement cybersecurity measures effectively. To gain a deeper understanding of how SMB executives navigate cybersecurity decision-making, we deployed a mixed-method approach, conducting semi-structured interviews (n=21) and online surveys (n=322) with SMB key decision-makers. Using thematic analysis, we revealed SMB decision-makers' perceived risks in terms of the digital assets they valued, and found reasons for their choice of defense measures and factors impacting security perception. We employed the situational awareness model to characterize decision-makers based on cybersecurity awareness, identifying those who have comparatively low awareness in the fight against adversaries. We further explored the relationship between awareness and business attributes, and constructed a holistic structural equation model to understand how awareness can be improved. Finally, we proposed interventions to help SMBs overcome potential challenges. |
| title | Mind the Gap: Revealing Security Barriers through Situational Awareness of Small and Medium Business Key Decision-Makers |
| topic | Cryptography and Security Computers and Society Human-Computer Interaction |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.10025 |