Explore the evidence.
Understand the reach.

Over the past two decades, cybercrime and cybercriminals have had a great impact on the safety, security and protection of the public sector’s confidential data and information assets. The increased usage of the internet and new, advanced 4IR technologies, and the digitisation of government’s public sector goods and services have become a growing concern to the government and its public sector institutions. In the South African context, as a developing country, it unfortunately lags behind advanced and developed nations in terms of fully counteracting cybercrime and cybercriminal operations. Despite this challenge, the South African government has been making tremendous efforts in combatting cybercrime. The aim of this article is to contextualise the study and practice of cyber threat intelligence at the national sphere of government in the South African public sector, namely, the former Department of Energy (DoE), former Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the former Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) a qualitative research approach was followed using a case study approach. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with senior departmental management. The findings are presented according to the Threat Intelligence Lifecycle analysis which serves as an analytical framework. The study concludes that in order to achieve effective cybersecurity practices and principles in the public sector , the government must identify the top trends commonly associated with cybersecurity to be able to develop and implement counteractive strategies and approaches, as well as to improve security systems and programs to ensure that an organisation is sufficiently prepared for and protected against cybercriminals and cyberattacks.

Globally, governments should prioritise and lead cybersecurity awareness as they have a duty to inform their citizens about responsible online behavior. This study aims to search for government-led cybersecurity awareness practices followed by the four world-leading countries (the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), Saudi Arabia and Estonia) as evident on their websites. This qualitative study employs content analysis by performing a review of the four world-leading countries’ websites, with a specific focus on support materials and other relevant activities as part of cybersecurity awareness. Analysis of the websites found that cybersecurity awareness practices had a wide reach. Firstly, a host of multimedia content (videos, readings, infographics, memes, games, and quizzes) was used in addition to social media platforms. Secondly, the content was categorized for a range of users, with parents and children being favored. Lastly, for countries where the first language was not English, websites were in the official language in addition to English. The study contributes to the literature on cybersecurity awareness. The good practices employed by these countries could serve as a benchmark globally for other countries seeking to formulate or update their websites. Furthermore, showcasing the four world-leading countries serves to assist countries which have a lower Global Cybersecurity Index organizational measure can improve their cybersecurity awareness websites.

How users perceive and respond to cybersecurity warning messages under cognitively demanding conditions can result in unintended cybersecurity failures. Digital banking environments can create cognitively demanding conditions, as users are required to make quick decisions while managing many other routine tasks. This can lead to cognitive overload and pressure to comply with cybersecurity warning messages. This study examined how cybersecurity messages are framed and how this framing could influence behavioural responses under cognitively demanding conditions. The study draws on behavioural and psychological perspectives, including the Cognitive Bias Theory, the Framing Effect, and the Cognitive Load Theory, offering critical insights into compliance cybersecurity behaviour. A quantitative survey was administered to 267 South African users in digital banking environments. Path analysis, an extension of multiple regression analysis, was used to examine the relationships among message framing, mental load, and familiarity bias, and how these factors influence behaviour, thereby impacting digital banking resilience. Findings showed that, for organisations in digital banking to be cybersecurity resilient, such resilience is largely shaped by message framing and cognitive processing load. This means message framing is a central behavioural mechanism that shapes behaviour and an organisation's overall cybersecurity posture. Similarly, mental load affects behaviour change, meaning that concerted cognitive pressures will influence users’ ability to engage with cybersecurity warnings. Familiarity bias was negatively associated with desired behaviour change, highlighting a risk of habitual reliance on familiar cybersecurity messages. The study contributes to ongoing cybersecurity research on aligning cybersecurity communication with users’ cognitive capacity, prompting institutions to rethink and redesign clear, cognitively efficient security messages that support decision-making under pressure.

Cybersecurity threats pose a growing challenge for organizations in digitally dependent economies, with South African organizations facing increasing incidents of data breaches and ransomware, among other threats. This study investigates how organizations can enhance cybersecurity resilience by aligning data privacy regulations with business resilience strategies. A quantitative survey of 201 professionals across multiple industries in South Africa was conducted, guided by Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DIT), and Resilience Theory. Analysis revealed that while organizations perceive the severity of cyber threats, internal threat perception alone does not drive innovation. Instead, external regulatory and institutional pressures emerged strong driver of cybersecurity innovation, which in turn strengthens cybersecurity resilience. Based on these insights, a Cybersecurity Resilience Model was developed as a defence mechanism against cybersecurity threats and attacks.

How users perceive and respond to cybersecurity warning messages under cognitively demanding conditions can result in unintended cybersecurity failures. Digital banking environments can create cognitively demanding conditions, as users are required to make quick decisions while managing many other routine tasks. This can lead to cognitive overload and pressure to comply with cybersecurity warning messages. This study examined how cybersecurity messages are framed and how this framing could influence behavioural responses under cognitively demanding conditions. The study draws on behavioural and psychological perspectives, including the Cognitive Bias Theory, the Framing Effect, and the Cognitive Load Theory, offering critical insights into compliance cybersecurity behaviour. A quantitative survey was administered to 267 South African users in digital banking environments. Path analysis, an extension of multiple regression analysis, was used to examine the relationships among message framing, mental load, and familiarity bias, and how these factors influence behaviour, thereby impacting digital banking resilience. Findings showed that, for organisations in digital banking to be cybersecurity resilient, such resilience is largely shaped by message framing and cognitive processing load. This means message framing is a central behavioural mechanism that shapes behaviour and an organisation's overall cybersecurity posture. Similarly, mental load affects behaviour change, meaning that concerted cognitive pressures will influence users’ ability to engage with cybersecurity warnings. Familiarity bias was negatively associated with desired behaviour change, highlighting a risk of habitual reliance on familiar cybersecurity messages. The study contributes to ongoing cybersecurity research on aligning cybersecurity communication with users’ cognitive capacity, prompting institutions to rethink and redesign clear, cognitively efficient security messages that support decision-making under pressure.

Cybersecurity threats pose a growing challenge for organizations in digitally dependent economies, with South African organizations facing increasing incidents of data breaches and ransomware, among other threats. This study investigates how organizations can enhance cybersecurity resilience by aligning data privacy regulations with business resilience strategies. A quantitative survey of 201 professionals across multiple industries in South Africa was conducted, guided by Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DIT), and Resilience Theory. Analysis revealed that while organizations perceive the severity of cyber threats, internal threat perception alone does not drive innovation. Instead, external regulatory and institutional pressures emerged strong driver of cybersecurity innovation, which in turn strengthens cybersecurity resilience. Based on these insights, a Cybersecurity Resilience Model was developed as a defence mechanism against cybersecurity threats and attacks.

Over the past two decades, cybercrime and cybercriminals have had a great impact on the safety, security and protection of the public sector’s confidential data and information assets. The increased usage of the internet and new, advanced 4IR technologies, and the digitisation of government’s public sector goods and services have become a growing concern to the government and its public sector institutions. In the South African context, as a developing country, it unfortunately lags behind advanced and developed nations in terms of fully counteracting cybercrime and cybercriminal operations. Despite this challenge, the South African government has been making tremendous efforts in combatting cybercrime. The aim of this article is to contextualise the study and practice of cyber threat intelligence at the national sphere of government in the South African public sector, namely, the former Department of Energy (DoE), former Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the former Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) a qualitative research approach was followed using a case study approach. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with senior departmental management. The findings are presented according to the Threat Intelligence Lifecycle analysis which serves as an analytical framework. The study concludes that in order to achieve effective cybersecurity practices and principles in the public sector , the government must identify the top trends commonly associated with cybersecurity to be able to develop and implement counteractive strategies and approaches, as well as to improve security systems and programs to ensure that an organisation is sufficiently prepared for and protected against cybercriminals and cyberattacks.

Globally, governments should prioritise and lead cybersecurity awareness as they have a duty to inform their citizens about responsible online behavior. This study aims to search for government-led cybersecurity awareness practices followed by the four world-leading countries (the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), Saudi Arabia and Estonia) as evident on their websites. This qualitative study employs content analysis by performing a review of the four world-leading countries’ websites, with a specific focus on support materials and other relevant activities as part of cybersecurity awareness. Analysis of the websites found that cybersecurity awareness practices had a wide reach. Firstly, a host of multimedia content (videos, readings, infographics, memes, games, and quizzes) was used in addition to social media platforms. Secondly, the content was categorized for a range of users, with parents and children being favored. Lastly, for countries where the first language was not English, websites were in the official language in addition to English. The study contributes to the literature on cybersecurity awareness. The good practices employed by these countries could serve as a benchmark globally for other countries seeking to formulate or update their websites. Furthermore, showcasing the four world-leading countries serves to assist countries which have a lower Global Cybersecurity Index organizational measure can improve their cybersecurity awareness websites.