Fuzzy logic application to link national culture and cybersecurity maturity

National culture and cybersecurity maturity (CM) both play defining roles in the identity and security of a nation. This study examines the relationship that these two constructs play in determining whether certain cultural dimensions of a nation leads to riskier cybersecurity behaviours. Based on the confirmed affirmation of the relationship between national culture and CM, we develop a research model based on fuzzy logic to predict the level of influence that national culture has on a country's Cybersecurity Maturity Level (CML). The fuzzy model was generated based on three semantic steps: (1) conducting statistical correlation analyses based on datasets related to 65 countries; (2) synthesizing a fuzzy model based on the derived knowledge; and (3) evaluating the fuzzy model based on public domain CM data across three case study countries. Our statistical analyses reveal a strong correlation between the cultural dimensions of Power Distance (PDI), Long Term Orientation (LTO), and Individualism (IDV) with login strength, implicating that these dimensions also strongly impact CM. Consequently, the proposed fuzzy model takes PDI, LTO, and IDV as the inputs to derive a quantitative value to the Global Cybersecurity Index related to a particular country. Hence, the novelty of this research lies in its interdisciplinary approach of creating and validating a model that can be used to determine the influence that national culture has on CML. Furthermore, this study suggests that national culture must be factored in when determining cybersecurity policy and frameworks which govern individuals within a nation's CM development.