Cybersecurity in the Digital Age: A Sociological Approach to Analysing Risks and Social Vulnerability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52152/ehxpw913Keywords:
cybersecurity, digital age, social vulnerability, digital society, cyber riskAbstract
This study aims to analyse cybersecurity and digital vulnerability from a sociological perspective by examining the relationship between digital transformation and the social structures that shape cyberspace. The study begins with the premise that digital risks are not merely technical threats but also intertwined social phenomena arising from the interaction of digital awareness, behavioural patterns, and technological gaps within society. The significance of the research emerges in the context of the growing reliance on digital media, which has widened digital inequalities and led to the emergence of cyberthreats affecting individuals, institutions, and the state. The research draws on an analysis of previous studies addressing security awareness, digital identity, and cybersecurity governance, as well as on the use of three central theoretical approaches: Ulrich Beck’s risk society approach, which interprets the production of digital risk in late modernity; Erving Goffman’s symbolic interactionism, which helps explain the management of digital identity within the networked space; and Manuel Castells’s network society approach, which highlights the role of digital networks in reshaping power and digital vulnerability. The findings indicate that digital vulnerability is shaped by several factors, most notably weak security awareness, the digital divide, limited digital literacy, and the absence of institutional cybersecurity governance. They also show that social institutions, particularly the family, education, and media, constitute a pivotal element in establishing sustainable digital protection and strengthening trust within the networked society. This study affirms that cybersecurity has become a fundamental pillar of social security and that understanding it from a sociological perspective is an essential entry point for managing digital risk and ensuring societal stability in an era of digital transformation.
References
Clark, M. (2015) Improving library efficiency to meet patron's needs: A data envelopment analysis benchmarking model. Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology, 2015-September, Art. No. 7273170, pp. 1415-1423.
Cook, W. D. and Zhu, J. (2013) Data Envelopment Analysis: Balanced Benchmarking (London: Create Space Independent Publishing).
Laeven, H. and Smit, A. (2003) A project to benchmark university libraries in The Netherlands, Library Management, 24 (6/7), pp. 291 – 304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01435120310486002
De Carvalho, F. A., Jorge, M. J., Jorge, M. F. and Russo M., de Sá, N. O. (2012) Library performance management in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Applying DEA to a sample of university libraries in 2006-2007. Library Management, 33 (4), pp. 297-306.
Dooren, W., Bouckaert, G. and Halligan, J. (2010) Performance Management in the Public Sector (New Yourk: Routlege).
Farrell, M. J. (1957) The measurement of productive efficiency, J Roy Stat Soc, Series A (III), pp. 253–290.
Favret, L. (2000) Benchmarking, annual library plans and best value: the implications for public libraries, Library Management, 21(7), pp. 40 – 348.
Ferlie, E., Lynn, E. L., Pollitt, CH., (2007) Public Management (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Flynn, N. (2012) Public Sector Management (London: Sage Publications).
Hammond, C. (2002) Efficiency in the provision of public services: A data envelopment analysis of UK public library systems, Applied Economics, 34(5), pp. 649–657.
Hendl, J. Přehled statistických metod: analýza a metaanalýza (Praha: Portál).
Jääskeläinen, A., and Lönnqvist, A. (2011) Public service productivity: how to capture outputs? International Journal of Public Sector Management, 24 (4), pp. 289 – 302.
Jablonský, J. and Dlouhý, M. (2004) Modely hodnocení efektivnosti produkčních jednotek (Praha: Professional Publishing).
Konvit, M. (2015) Identifikace klíčových trendů v knihovnictví. Ostrava: Moravskoslezská vědecká knihovna v Ostravě, Sborník ze semináře: Knihovna pro všechny, pp. 90-96.
Li, P. and Yang, Z. (2014) Performance Evaluation of the Public Libraries in USA Using Data Envelopment Analysis, International Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 4(2), pp. 10-18.
Lovell, L. K. et al. (1993) The Measurement of Productive Efficiency and Productivity Growth (Oxford: University Press).
Matthaeidesová, M. (2004) Humanizácia knižnično-informačných služieb z aspektu interpersonálnej komunikácie, Knižnica, 5(11-12), pp. 499-504.
Meloun, M and Militký, J. (2002) Kopendium statistického zpracování dat (Praha: Academia).
Osiewalski, J. and Osiewalska, A. (2004) “Measuring cost efficiency of public and academic libraries in Poland – a methodological persp ective and empirical experience (Keynote paper)”, Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences “Library Mana gement in Changing Environment”, May 30-June 3, Krakow, available at: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1678&context=iatul (accessed June 1, 2016).
Protivinský, T., Hrubeš, M. and Čáp, P. (2015) Komunitní činnost veřejných knihoven v procesech integrace sociálně znevýhodněných osob (Praha: Agentura pro sociální začleňování, Úřad vlády ČR).
Reichmann, G. and Sommersguter-Reichmann, M. (2010) Efficiency measures and productivity indexes in the context of university library benchmarking. Applied Economics, 42 (3), pp. 311-323.
Richter, V. (2015) Srovnávání knihoven se vyplatí, Čtenář, 67(5), pp. 163-166.
Samuelson, P. A. and W. D. Nordhaus (2010) Economics (New York: McGraw-Hill).
Stejskal et al. (2013) Měření hodnoty služeb (na příkladu veřejných knihoven) (Praha: Wolters Kluwer ČR).
Stroobants, J. and Bouckaert, G. (2014) Benchmarking local public libraries using non-parametric frontier methods: A case study of Flanders, Library and Information Science Research, 36 (3-4), pp. 211-224.
The Czech Statistical Office (2015) Knihovny - územní srovnání. available at: https://vdb.czso.cz/vdbvo2/faces/cs/index.jsf?page=vystup-objekt-parametry&pvo=Kul03&sp=A&pvokc=&katalog=30968&z=T (accessed May 10, 2016).
The National Library of the Czech Republic (2016) Dobrý fond pro dobrou knihovnu. Standard pro doplňování a aktualizaci knihovního fondu. Návrh 15.4.2016. available at: http://ipk.nkp.cz/docs/2016_Standard_pro_dobry_fond_15_4_2016.docx (accessed May 18, 2015).
The National Library of the Czech Republic (2014) Služby knihoven knihovnám, available at: http://ipk.nkp.cz/programy-podpory/regionalni-funkce-verejnych-knihoven/dokumenty/sluzby-knihoven-knihovnam (accessed February 2, 2016).
The National Library of the Czech Republic (2015) Standard pro dobrou knihovnu, available at: http://ipk.nkp.cz/docs/Standard_pro_dobrou_knihovnu.pdf (accessed December 12, 2015).
The Law No. 257/2001 Coll. of 29 June 2001 on Libraries and Terms of Operating Public Library and Information Services (Library Act).
Vitaliano, D. F. (1998) Assessing Public Library Efficiency Using Data Envelopment Analysis, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 69 (1), pp. 107-122.
Vrabková, I. and Vaňková, I. (2015) Evaluation Models of Efficiency and Quality of Bed Care in Hospitals. SAEI, Vol. 36. (Ostrava: VŠB-TU Ostrava).
Worthington, A. (1999) Performance Indicators and Efficiency Measurement in Public Libraries, Australian Economic Review, 32 (1), pp. 31-42.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Lex localis - Journal of Local Self-Government
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
