Equifinality in Cybersecurity Research: Opportunities and Future Research
Published in Effective Cybersecurity Operations for Enterprise-Wide Systems. (Publisher: IGI Global) - Authors: Brett Landry, Renita Murimi, Greg Bell, 2023
Cybersecurity is inherently uncertain due to the evolving threat vectors. Indeed, the constant battle between attackers and defenders in cyberspace is compounded by the multiplicity of causes, environments, threat vectors, motives, and attack outcomes. The role of improvisation and equifinality are investigated in understanding cyber incidents as incident bundles that may include both the presence and/or absence of factors that can contribute to a single outcome. Equifinality in cybersecurity operations is discussed along five dimensions: stakeholders, cyber operation bundles, end users, networks, and the threat environment for future research. For each of these dimensions, a set of themes and an associated portfolio of examples of cybersecurity activities at three levels—individual, firm, and community—is provided. Qualitative case analysis (QCA) can be employed to understand incident bundles better to understand that incidents vulnerabilities and solutions use equifinality in their paths to a given outcome.