The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared details on its Cyber Risk Economics Capability Gaps Research Strategy, which is part of its Cyber Risk Economics (CYRIE) program, in a blog post on Tuesday. The Research Strategy “extends beyond the traditional economics view of cybersecurity incentives to consider business, legal, technical and behavior factors impacting cyber risk,” according to DHS. The study will focus on four broad themes: how and why cybersecurity investments are made, the impact cybersecurity investments have on risk and harm, the relationship between cybersecurity risk and traditional business risk, and the incentives needed to encourage optimal cyber-risk management. “The strategy’s objective is to narrow the gap between research and practice by apprising the research community of real-world cyber risk economics challenges, and ultimately, to inform evidence-based policy and actions by industry and government,” said Cyber Risks Economics Program Manager Erin Kenneally. “By employing a holistic approach to cyber risk economics research, CYRIE incorporates perspectives on cybersecurity-related decision-making and behavior from a number of social and behavioral sciences alongside more familiar risk economics, ultimately becoming effective in addressing strategy and tactics for optimal cyber-risk avoidance, acceptance, mitigation, and transfer.”
