Insights in the field of cybersecurity economics empower decision makers to make informed decisions that improve their evaluation and management of situations that may lead to catastrophic consequences and threaten the sustainability of digital ecosystems. By drawing on these insights, cybersecurity practitioners have been able to respond to many complex problems that have emerged within the context of cybersecurity over the last two decades. The academic field of cybersecurity economics is highly interdisciplinary since it combines core findings and tools from disciplines such as sociology, psychology, law, political science, and computer science. This study aims to develop an extensive and consistent survey based on a literature review and publicly available reports. This review contributes by aggregating the available knowledge from 28 studies, out of a collection of 628 scholarly articles, to answer five specific research questions. The focus is how identified topics have been conceptualized and studied variously. This review shows that most of the cybersecurity economics models are transitioning from unrealistic, unverifiable, or highly simplified fundamental premises toward dynamic, stochastic, and generalizable models.

Cybersecurity investments are made within a complex and ever-evolving environment, where regulatory changes represent a significant risk factor. While cybersecurity regulations aim to minimize cyber risks and enhance protection, the uncertainty arising from frequent changes or new regulations can significantly impact organizational response strategies. This paper explores the determinants and implications of regulatory risks associated with cybersecurity, aiming to provide a deeper understanding of how these risks influence strategic decision-making. The study delves into the suggestion of preventive and mitigative controls that enable businesses to adapt to and mitigate potential disruptions caused by regulatory changes, thereby preserving their established cybersecurity practices. Another key contribution of this study is the introduction of a stochastic econometric model that illustrates how regulatory risks and uncertainties can affect investment behaviors, often prompting a “wait-and-see” stance. This model synthesizes the complex relationship among investment choices, regulatory changes, and cybersecurity risks, providing insights into the dynamic nature of cybersecurity investment strategies. The research findings offer valuable guidance for risk management and strategic planning in cybersecurity investments. By comprehensively understanding the drivers and impacts of regulatory risks, businesses and policymakers can develop more effective risk evaluation and management approaches. This is essential for sustaining a strong cybersecurity posture while navigating the changing regulatory environment.

Appropriate training is an effective solution to tackle the evolving threat landscape and conflicts in the cyber domain and to fulfill security requirements. Serious games demonstrate pedagogic effectiveness in this field, however, they need to comply with national, organizational, and individual strategies and characteristics. These games provide the players, individually or in groups, with an opportunity to develop their adversarial and system thinking skills to set up effective defenses. To this end, in this paper, we propose a framework for designing serious games that raise security awareness. The proposed framework considers the complex nature of the cyber domain, the knowledge and motivation of participants, and the experiential learning using cyber ranges. The framework is based on existing frameworks, and integrates their advantages to form a comprehensive framework. Future research should refine the framework and design serious games to evaluate its effectiveness in producing desired end results.