Chapter 10: cyber security and knowledge management

This chapter discusses fundamental assumptions relating to concepts that are central to Cyber Defence as they need to be understood by organisations for purposes of cyber resilience and security. The ability to understand and anticipate your organisation’s part in an increasingly complex operating environment plays a key role in its continued survival. The chapter argues that the utility of the key asset of knowledge, and the management of this vital resource, plays a major role in the success or failure of this necessary objective. It is axiomatic that knowledge sharing has many comparable benefits for organisations and individuals. The chapter further argues that systemic risk and cyber threats challenge existing paradigms for managing data, information and knowledge and suggests that a more radical approach to gaining and sharing knowledge is a requirement to remaining organisationally agile in the fast-moving, technologically advanced wider defence and security sector. The defence sector now acknowledges data, information and knowledge as strategic assets, therefore it needs to be more organisationally aware and place Knowledge Management at the centre of its strategic management approach to cyber resilience, to be enhanced rather than compromised by powerful IT systems.