Intelligent Management and Artificial Intelligence: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities, Vol.1

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to examine the awareness of cyber security threats in the era of hybrid warfare among councillors of selected 21 medium and large Polish cities from the West Pomeranian and Subcarpathia provinces. Need for the study: In the era of hybrid warfare, cyberspace is becoming another theatre of warfare. Numerous threats to society flow from cyberspace. A key aspect of defence against threats is awareness, which most often comes from knowledge of the threats. Methodology: The study used methodological triangulation to fully clarify the awareness of cyber threats among city councillors. To this end, anonymous questionnaire surveys were conducted, asking people to rate the likelihood of various threats, including cyber threats. The same group of councillors was then invited to participate in in-depth interviews, during which they were asked to identify three key contemporary threats to Poland and to identify the most important concerns of the residents of the cities they represent. The results for the two provinces were compared and showed statistically significant differences. Findings: The councillors indicated the presence of cyber security threats in the surveys. These threats were the second most indicated and were the fewest of all 14 threats indicated as not present. However, in qualitative research, during in-depth interviews with councillors, these threats were sporadic. This indicates a relatively low awareness of cyber security threats. Practical Implications: The research methodology can be used to conduct analogous research in other regions of the world or in organizations exposed to cybersecurity threats.