Nowoczesne Systemy Zarządzania (Jun 2024)
A sense of information security in the VUCA world
Abstract
The VUCA world is characterized by variability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of external factors that affect individuals and entire societies. In this world, man is constantly exposed to new dangers, which, due to the changeability of conditions, he must be able to perceive, define and prepare to confront them. The ephemerality of such an existence translates into a lack of sense of security, i.e. achieving a state in which the entity does not feel threats resulting from the use of information that does not meet quality standards and from the loss of all or part of its information assets. The VUCA world is a consequence of globalization processes, technological development, as well as the clash of civilizations and the interpenetration of cultures. The fluidity and variability of the environment resulting from these factors forces people to look for new methods of security and risk management, adapted to current needs. The VUCA world requires a change in information needs and information behaviors resulting from the increasing level of information awareness and the need to feel safe. This is a challenge for the authorities and the educational community looking for answers on how to shape active security entities for the country’s needs, aware of contemporary challenges and threats. The article discusses the factor responsible for sensitizing an individual to the threats generated by the VUCA world, which is education for information security. The aim of the article was to identify methods of implementing an education program for information security and the effectiveness of this education, which translates into immunizing educated people against the threats related to the consequences of information stress, information overproduction, failure to cope with risk, uncertainty, inability to manage information, insufficient digital competences, and therefore to those threats that make it difficult for an individual to cope with variability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The article uses a qualitative method, content analysis of information security education programs. The article poses a research problem: does the information security education program effectively shape people’s resistance to information threats? A research hypothesis was also formulated: information security education programs dedicated to young people do not sufficiently shape their resilience in a pathogenic information environment. The conducted research revealed areas in information security education programs that require supplementation and the need for changes in the process of their implementation. The fluidity of the VUCA world requires developing not only technical but also social, emotional and information skills. It was recognized that the role of a teacher, pedagogue and school psychologist is crucial in shaping the information security culture of an individual and that the level of this culture translates into the individual’s objective sense of information security, and thus coping with the threats posed by the VUCA world.
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