Juhani
Anttila
Venture Knowledgist Quality Integration
Helsinki, Finland
www.QualityIntegration.biz
FULFILLING
THE NEEDS FOR INFORMATION SECURITY AWARENESS
AND LEARNING IN INFORMATION SOCIETY
Abstract
In information society and business world, there are different levels
of needs for information security awareness and learning, e.g. the
needs for ordinary citizens, business leaders, and experts. Users
of information systems - factually all members of society - should
have at least basic literacy of information security. In the day-to-day
business life, advanced skills of information security awareness
are needed by business managers. At the expert level, the developers
of technical and organizational solutions for the Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) need to have a wide understanding
of information security threats and opportunities and related solutions.
Information security officers or managers have a key role in organizations
in developing and maintaining their organizations' systematic approach
of information security according to the organizations' business
needs.
It is essential that the learning methodologies can answer to the
needs of all different actors in society. In this paper, we analyze
these needs and the type and contents of learning needed and consider
the development in training, education and learning from traditional
approaches to new challenges.
Introduction
ICT is aimed at helping our lives and making the society more in
efficient in its services. Ever more powerful personal computers
and other personal digital assistants, converging technologies and
the widespread use of the Internet have replaced what were modest,
stand-alone systems in predominantly closed networks. Today, participants
are increasingly interconnected and the connections cross organizational
and national borders. In addition, the Internet supports critical
infrastructures of society and plays a major part in how companies
do business, how governments provide services to citizens and enterprises
and how individual citizens communicate and exchange information
(OECD, 2000).
The development has been rapid and there are still quite a lot
of challenges in coping with the new situation. However, the development
has not been without troubles. The development and use of the ICT
solutions has often been problematic (Collins, 2001). Many new ICT
applications have also made the jobs of people more complex and
difficult. This includes problems for employees and business leaders
making operational and strategic decisions, and because they have
to access many ICT applications to do their jobs. In many cases
the data sources, systems, and applications located throughout the
organization need to be combined to present the summarized information
for business needs. Corporate-wide systems are complex and designed
for a specific purpose and function, so the ICT department is required
to deploy many different and often unrelated applications and modules
to fill the information and processing needs of the entire organization.
An incredible amount of training time is needed for employees to
learn how to use effectively such a complex applications to complete
their assigned responsibilities. These complexities have also harmful
impacts to information security.
We get more challenges also because the whole nature of ICT is
changing and becoming more multi-faceted. Some people have given
a new interpretation to the concept ICT, Interactive Collaborative
Technology.
Today's dynamic business environments are characterized by continuous
changes and effects of global interactive independent actors especially
involving competing or conflicting political, social, and psychological
factors. This breeds many difficulties for realizing information
security management in a professional way but it also gives very
new possibilities related to new technological and collaborative
tools for managing information security if only the foundations
of the new business behaviours are understood deeply (Locke et al,
2000).
Organizations in the networked business environments are heterogeneous,
and the local rules organize their interaction. Key concepts are
self-organization and emergence. Organizations are interacting in
networks by complex responsive processes of relating (Stacey, 2002).
In this situation it is better to use the term active processes
rather than to talk about passive organizational systems, e.g. information
security systems. Central to these complex responsive processes
of relating are communicative interactions among people.
Information security and privacy are remarkable challenges for
organizations and the society at large. Because of the speed of
the development, information security and privacy solutions are
not always at adequate level. In the process of making an information
security aware society happen, we need understanding, knowledge,
and learning on information security through the whole society.
However, the needs of different actor groups are different. In this
text, three significant actor categories are considered, general
population i.e. ordinary citizens, business people and particularly
business leaders, and experts of information security and related
areas.
Information security awareness is here also reflected on its deepness
point of view. Increasing awareness equals with enhancing understanding
and learning clarified principles, and new skills and practices
among individuals and communities. Earlier learning was mainly achieved
through training and education activities, e.g. courses, programs,
etc. that are nowadays also carried out by e-learning systems and
facilities. However, these traditional practices are not enough
for deep awareness and have not proved really effective. Only very
basic knowledge of information security may be provided by traditional
training and education means. Application of new learning theories
and innovations of networked interactive information technology
give promising views also for learning in information security.
Needs for Information Security Knowledge
Basic Information Security Literacy
for the General Population
Many functions of our information society are already now depending
on information and communication technologies. For example, electronic
services can be used in carrying out government procedures such
as revenue services, employment services or voting and also for
shopping and paying. This results to a situation where citizens
and members of the society should be security aware to the necessary
extent. End users are using ICT services both in their private life
and also in their working environments in different organizations.
In fact, we can say that end user security awareness is one of the
most important security issues in our society. The citizens should
have at least basic literacy of information security. The most important
issues in the basic literacy of information security include understanding
and deployment of:
- Deliberative ability when using computer networks and critical
information or authentication tokens
- Observance of rules in cyberspace as in the traditional society
- Self-protection, especially in privacy-sensitive situations
Managing Organizations with Regards
to Information Security
Information security competence is needed in all fields of business
life in both companies and public organizations. It is important
to understand information security holistically and apply this to
everybody's own work. Floor level employees need the basic information
security skills and awareness how those skills are really applied
in their particular organizations and business activities. They
should clearly understand organization's security policy in general
and particularly in their own working contexts.
Especially senior executives are responsible of managing organizations
with regard to information security by directing and controlling
organizations with coordinated activities. They should be committed
to information security and should be able to contribute to the
security objectives and protection needs of assets of the organization.
They should have knowledge how to take information security into
account in their managerial responsibilities. It is top management's
responsibility to get all personnel motivated to follow organization's
information security policy. Essential role of the top management
is strategic management that is primarily related to change management
for developing the whole organization to the future's needs and
expectations. In this context information security is strongly related
to managing business risks, continuity, and crises.
As a rule, information security management is often only seen from
the viewpoint of large corporations. However, even giant corporations
are not islands, they are connected with other, smaller companies
through subcontracting and outsourcing. As a result, negligence
in the management of information security, may affect through the
network. Commitment to information security is of utmost importance
within the entire network. By their commitment, corporate managers
help pave the way towards the information society (Savola et al.,
2005).
New Challenges for Information Security
and Related Experts and Professionals
At the expert level information security, knowledge is not only
needed by the information security management professionals but
also e.g. by R&D engineers who are developing ICT solutions
and their security practices.
Developers of ICT Solutions
The developers of ICT solutions are an important expert group of
the information society and business. The developers are involved
with information security issues all the way from the beginning
of system design cycle in a multifaceted way. Solutions development
tasks are not only technical issues but information security designers
should also take into account users' behavioral aspects. In order
to make information security solutions widely used in society the
usability is an important design goal for security solutions. Irvine
in "Challenges in Computer Security Education" (Irvine,
1997) identifies different expert groups and their needs:
- Software and hardware developers,
- System architects,
- System certifiers,
- CERT members and
- Security researchers.
Development of security solutions is not carried out solely by
security experts. Instead, engineers and other developers from different
application areas should know how to take information security into
account in an adequate way in their own area of specialization.
Information security is strongly a horizontal competence area and
security solutions are often different in different application
fields. In general, there cannot be a security expert for every
project case.
Challenges for good information security in designs are especially
short project schedules in product development, increasing complexity
and decreasing life of technical systems, and markets needs for
short-term cost effectiveness. These challenges can be overcome
only if understanding of information security becomes an intrinsic
part, a "thinking model" of product and business development
by using ICT solutions. How can this new thinking model be developed
then? Certainly there is no fire-proof solution. However, key issue
is the developers themselves having enough knowledge and skills
related to information security and ability to work innovatively
and collaboratively.
Understanding different phenomena and their dependencies is a big
challenge for the research and development in the field. E.g. the
research community has been long time guilty in investigating information
security "through" certain vertical application areas
but the horizontality and needs for multi-technology solutions has
not been understood well enough. For example, in telecommunications,
a lot of work has been devoted only to security end-to-end communication,
encryption and authentication, forgetting what happens to the information
outside of the communication link. The communicated information
can be handled in different kinds of information systems, platforms
and there may be many users of the information. A big challenge
is to manage information security in complex and networked multi-organization
cooperation. Innovation skills are required also in the research
and development of information security.
Information Security Professionals
Information security professionals, such as CISOs (Chief Information
Security Officers) are core people for developing information security
approaches and tools in organizations and businesses. These professionals
should have a multifaceted background and education in e.g. telecommunications,
networks, risk analysis, contingency planning, and business management.
The principal role of an information security expert in an organization
is to develop continuously the whole organization's business capabilities
to professional and excellent information security. Therefore metacognitive
skills are especially significant for all organizational experts
including information security specialists (Mayer, 1998). They should
have ability also for making critically their own ideas questionable.
An effective information security manager should have abilities
for learning to learn. This person knows the stages in the process
of learning and understands his/her own preferred approaches to
it and can identify and overcome blocks to learning and can bring
learning from off-the-job learning to on-the-job situations.
As the business situations and environments in general, also information
security cases have become more complex. That means that also among
information security expertise there are already many specialized
sub-areas of expertise that may require specialized mathematical,
technical, psychological, legal, organizational, cultural, etc.
knowledge. One expert cannot be any more expert in the whole area
of information security. The consequence is that experts should
have active expert networks inside and outside organizations, and
therefore networking and collaborative skills are essential. We
have moved from individual knowledge to networked knowledge where
the degree of connectivity, degree of interactivity, and degree
of sharing knowledge between different experts is more important
that what individual experts know.
Information experts should have deep knowledge of the general standards
of the field. That includes especially the following recognized
reference material:
- ISO/IEC 27001:2005 - Information technology - Security techniques
- Information security management systems - Requirements
- ISO/IEC 17799:2005 - Information technology - Security techniques
- Code of practice for information security management
- ISO/IEC 17799-1:1996 - Information technology - Security techniques
- Key management - Part 1: Framework
General principles are a good foundation for information security
experts to information security knowledge. For that OECD has produced
recognized guidelines towards a culture of security (OECD, 2002).
Those guidelines focus on the security of information systems and
networks.
Information security experts should be well aware of the general
standards for information systems. There are both international
consensus standards and de facto standards. The following are the
most important:
- ISO/IEC 20000:2005 - Information technology - Service management
- ITIL, IT Infrastructure Library, 2006
- COBIT, Control Objectives for Information Technology (IT Governance)
- COSO Internal Control Framework, Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission (COSO)
- The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2002
Also general business management models and standards, e.g. ISO
9000 standards, must be aware by information security experts.
The use of all these reference materials is not at all an easy
issue. Those documents are very comprehensive, overlapping and proposing
different possibilities to approach. Information security experts
must be able to select elements and the approach that are most suitable
for his/her case.
In organizations information security is always contextual issue.
Therefore information security expert should understand his/her
organization's business system and dynamics of business processes
within the system. Especially it is important to recognize linkages
of information security with business processes. One should be clearly
aware of the interactive relations among organizational groups and
have abilities to create and distribute new knowledge horizontally
and vertically in organization by using normal business interactions.
A challenge is to get effective communication happen between business
leaders and information security experts.
Development of organizational information security solutions essentially
aims at enhancing organizations' business performance. Therefore,
information security experts should have skills of change management.
New general information security principles and recommendations
are created by different expert communities of the information security.
That means that information security experts of different organizations
should be actively and continuously involved with international
cooperation, e.g. standardization and preparation of national and
international directions and guidance for information security.
Major information society decisions are made by politicians. In
order to take here into account also information security issues
in a professional way, information security experts should be active
also in cooperating with related authorities and in contributing
for the development of society with their expert knowledge.
Traditional Training and Education in
Information Security
Enhancing Information Security Awareness
among Citizens
Information security awareness among the large population of citizens
has been increased by different means including:
- Comprehensive education
- General adult education
- Promoting information security by ICT system and service providers
and institutional organizations or official bodies
- Articles in newspapers and magazines and television programs
- National campaigns
For promoting security culture, for example, Finnish Communications
Regulatory Authority is carrying out a work in the National Information
Security Day program, targeted for schools and SMEs. Today's efforts
in information security awareness enhancement represent a good starting
point. However, a lot needs to be done to prepare for a ubiquitous
digital society. The problem in current security awareness programs
and education is that they typically offer only check lists for
information security practices. Instead of check lists, more profound
knowledge and holistic understanding of information security phenomena
is needed.
There are also Web services available for increasing information
security awareness. These are particularly directed to the young
generation of Internet users. We have examples at European level
(Tietoturvakoulu, 2007) and national level in Finland (Insafe, 2007).
It is important that information security becomes a fixed part
of the education programs in comprehensive schools and vocational
institutes. At this moment, this education is not an integral part
of any major subject in school. Comprehensive information security
education relies on the activity of few vigilant teachers.
Technical and economical vocational education is facing a big challenge
of implementing information security education. They should be able
to develop a holistic information security education program, with
parts of information security management, technical solutions, legislation
and business management. Teaching technical security solutions is
not enough. Neither is enough to teach technical solutions only
from the point of view of one vertical technology area, such as
telecommunications, software or information systems. In addition,
solutions are done at different levels of abstraction: system, module
and more detailed levels. Sole concentration to information security
management is neither enough. Information security management skills
without technical understanding of solutions do not make good security
experts. Current technical and economical vocational education is
touching only the surface of information security. The result is
that students are able to use and draft partial security check-lists,
but are not able to see the whole picture of information security
management.
Management Training and Education
Management training and education programs, e.g. MBA programs,
do not normally include remarkably elements for managing information
security. There are, however, available quite a lot of different
seminars and consulting services for information security. In organizations
and businesses there have been a lot of different information security
training approaches and awareness programs and even e-learning means
have been developed. (Walsh, 1996) (Thomson, von Solms, 1997) (Epelboin,
2002) (Kajava et al, 2003) (Kajava, Varonen, 2004) (Heikkinen, Ramet,
2004) (Neal et al, 2004) (Kajava et al, 2006-1) What are the impacts
of all these measures?
Several studies made in different organizations indicate that often
members of the management teams as well as key personnel in organizations
are well-versed in information security and its attendant risks.
Yet, although they are even motivated to deepen their knowledge
and hone their skills, it is not sure, whether they have internalized
their own roles of management in information security. Top managers
often have only a superficial understanding of information security
management in practice, which may lead them to make decisions that
are not conducive to raising the organization's information security
performance. (Kajava et al, 2006-2)
In Finland the Ministry of Finance has appointed the Government
Information Security Management Board (VAHTI, 2006) as a body for
the co-operation, steering and development of government information
security. The aim is, by developing information security, to improve
the reliability and continuity of state administrative functions
as well as enhance the integration of information security as an
integral part of all state administration. The VAHTI guidance publications
are widely utilized also in municipal administration, the private
sector, citizen activities and international co-operation. As a
consequence VAHTI publications are a significant vehicle in disseminating
information security knowledge.
In Northern Finland we have created an information security network
that has also contacts to key personalities globally. For communication
and cooperation we are using modern blog technology (Information
Security Network in Northern Finland, 2006). That is a place to
distribute information and ideas on information security issues
free for those who need it. The main idea is to promote work together
by a networked manner.
Higher Level Education for Experts
Information security experts, e.g. CISOs, have typically acquired
their knowledge by having a long working history in technical or
administrative tasks. Most information security managers in organizations
have university level education.
Nowadays many universities and technical institutes have had their
own information and public security education B.Sc., M.Sc. and doctoral
programs already since early 1990's. If their own resources are
not enough to arrange information security education in a proper
way, co-operation between different schools and departments is taken
place. We are still in the beginning of arranging the information
security education, and networking in this challenging area is necessary.
With a limited information security program we cannot produce real
information security experts or business experts for the needs of
industry.
Information security is still a new topic inside university education.
Typically education in universities started with mathematical courses
of cryptography. The second step included technical courses. Organizational
aspects of security came from practical applications, like US Navy
(Parker, 1981) and The Royal Mounted Police in Canada (1981).
In Finland we started information security education at Oulu University
in 1990. We still remember an old discussion in 2006 with 20 delegated
of European universities, which were interested about security education
by participating Erasmus/Socrates projects. We had a discussion
of how many Masters Thesis each university had per year. There were
many who said - nothing. Some of the universities had one or two.
We were just wondering the situation - we had six and it was not
a good year for our university. It is important to understand that
university education in security is very new topic. On the other
side, we must remember that the contents is still in many cases
only technology / mathematics related. We need these areas, but
besides it we need many other security topics in university level
education e.g. from legislation to ethical aspects of security.
We particularly emphasize human and organizational points of security
(Kajava and Varonen, 2000).
Now we are wondering, what is going on in European universities
for the quality of education? Well-known Bologna process (EU, 2000)
is to harmonize education at all European higher level educational
institutes. Danger is to create too bureaucratic solutions of quality
assurance systems that are factually hindering genuine innovative
development of quality in education.
For qualifying information security expertise, many professional
certificates are nowadays used, e.g. CISSP (Certified Information
Systems Security Professional), CISA (Certified Information Systems
Auditor) and CISM (Certified Information Security Manager). Some
certifications can be enhanced, e.g. CISSP-ISSEP (Information Systems
Security Engineering Professional), CISSP-ISSAP (Information Systems
Security Architecture Professional) and CISSP-ISSMP (Information
Systems Security Management Professional). The purpose of certificates
is to convince other people that the holder of a certificate is
capable to carry out tasks in information security. The educative
role of different certification programs can be in "fine tuning"
or deepen the specific area of information security according to
the role. Very often certifications seem to lack the connection
to the basic studies of information security. Furthermore, more
standardized certifications might be needed. It is not a goal that
an expert has a long list of certifications in his/her business
card.
Learning Knowledge of Information Security
In order to avoid the problems and miscarriage of the traditional
training and education practices one should approach from separate
training/education events or programs to continuous learning process
integrated with the organizational business processes. It is necessary
to have both individual and collective knowledge and learning in
organizations (Senge et al, 1995).
Fundamentally learning means creating and cultivating mental models.
Therefore a significant part of learning is reflection of learners
own experiences. Information security knowledge is principally implicit
(tacit) knowledge (figure 1) and learning should be principally
enhancing persons' awareness in information security. Explicit knowledge,
e.g. documentation related to policy documents, procedure documents,
instructions, etc, is only a very minor part because most of the
human activities are based is on tacit knowledge (Anttila 2004-1,
Anttila 2004-2).
Figure 1. Most expertise knowledge is of tacit knowledge. Explicit
knowledge has only a minor supporting role within practical operational
situations (Anttila 2004-1).
Integrated approach of information security strives for security
related knowledge and activities that are linked with organization's
core competences and competitive advantages. In that way information
security may become a strategic issue in an organization.
In learning approaches one should distinguish between single-loop
and double-loop learning (figure 2) (Smith, Argyris, 2001). In single-loop
learning, individuals, groups or organizations modify their actions
according to the difference between expected and obtained outcomes.
That is typically operational level learning. In double-loop learning,
the entities (individuals, groups or organization) question the
values, assumptions and policies that led to the actions in the
first place; if they are able to view and modify those, then second-order
or double-loop learning has taken place. Because security experts'
principal duty in organizations is to develop continuously the whole
organization's information security performance professionally they
should particularly focus on the double-loop learning.
Figure 2. Two types of learning is required for information security
There are many types of learning by using different approaches
and tools (Table 1).
Table 1. Types of training and education (Siemens, 2006)
Information Security Awareness
Integration of information security means that it is achieved naturally
without any additional or artificial tricks, procedures, or systems
in natural and real operational environments. This style of operating
is fundamentally based on awareness within the responsible resources
and organizations (Anttila 2006).
Information security awareness (or its synonym information security
consciousness) is most essential topic for realizing information
security and applying it in practical cases. The concept may be
defined very simply: "having knowledge of information security".
However, what is the meaning of this is not at all any simple thing.
Awareness is a profound totality of physical, psychological, and
philosophical aspects of sensations, perceptions, ideas, attitudes,
and feelings related to an individual or a group having knowledge
of the abstract and comprehensive object of information security
of a certain case, at any given time, or within a given time span.
Different deepness-levels (Figure 3) of intellectual behavior in
awareness and learning that may be categorized e.g. according to
classical Bloom's Taxonomy (Lamb, Johnson, 2003). Metacognitive
readiness and ability to learn learning and to open to question
one's own way to think and act are the most sublime achievements
in the development of learning (Mayer, 1998).
Figure 3. Different deepness-levels of intellectual behavior in
awareness and learning
Very often today through traditional formal information security
training and education one can achieve only very first levels of
the figure 3. However, in order to ensure development and maintenance
of information security in organizations and in societies at large
in ever changing operational environments and with fast development
of ICT technology, we should have even deepest level of awareness
among our information security experts within our organizations.
All actor categories need deep knowledge but contents required are
different in different categories. Even citizens need that kind
of knowledge because they may meet unexpected situations during
their everyday activities.
Awareness related phenomena are essential but also very complex
things when developing information security approaches in any kind
of organization in modern business environments. There are always
also complex connections between consciousness and unconsciousness
(sub-consciousness). Situation is still more complicated when one
is considering possibilities of the collective consciousness and
collective unconsciousness. (Block, 1995)
Consciousness is difficult to define or locate, and it involves
a lot of disagreements depending on one's philosophical paradigm.
Some have even argued that empirical tests of consciousness are
intrinsically impossible.
In biological psychology awareness implies somebody's perception
via physiological senses and reaction through mental information
processes to a condition or event. This type of awareness does not
necessarily imply profound understanding. Awareness is a relative
concept. One may be partially aware, may be subconsciously (unconsciously)
aware or may be acutely aware of an event. Awareness may be focused
on an internal state or on external events by way of sensory perception.
Awareness provides the raw material from which one develops subjective
ideas about his/her experience. Phenomenal consciousness consists
of mental events of experience, including forms with different qualities,
sensations, emotions and feelings with us and our responses. In
access consciousness a mind is directed at something. Information
security is always a perception of someone who has something to
do with the entity in question. It is quite obvious that a lot of
information security risks are originated from problematic situations
in someone's mental process.
Events that occur in the mind or brain that are not within phenomenal
consciousness are unconscious events. We have always complex and
unidentified transactions between one's consciousness and unconsciousness.
Carl Jung introduced the concept collective unconscious (Boeree,
2006). That related essentially to his idea of archetype. The archetype
implies common psychological predispositions of humans. Archetypes
can only be revealed through an examination of the symbolic communications
of the human psyche, and the themes of human relational/behavioral
patterns. Archetype is defined as the original model of which all
other similar objects or concepts are merely derivative, copied,
patterned, or emulated. Social networking, communication and imitation
of memes are the major processes related to sharing in the archetypes.
In the case of information security it is essential to understand
what those basic archetypes of information security are really.
Obviously appreciating one's privacy is in the core of information
security archetypes. After understanding archetypes of information
security one may approach to the guiding principles for managing
information security in practical cases. However, this archetype
approach is not familiar even among the real experts.
Modern Learning Theories and Facilities
Enhancing Information Security Awareness
Successful operations in information society and management of organizations
are based on right knowledge and skills to use the knowledge for
the current needs. Additionally, exchange of information is necessary
between organizations' customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers,
business partners, and the great public.
Organizational and personal learning are prerequisites for enhancing
information security skills in striving for successful operations
in information society. On-the-job learning offers cost-effective
way to link learning to the organizational needs and priorities.
The aim of the new approach in learning is to improve learning
through improving interactive communication, and building social
knowledge within organizations and communities. In this approach,
management learning is integrated with normal managing activities
of the business leaders. That means that learning takes place while
in actual performance of business leaders' work.
There have been a lot of positive expectations and promises for
e-learning solutions especially based on standardized approaches
like SCORM, AICC, and SingCore ADL (2004) (AICC, 2006) (Marshall,
2004) (Siemens, 2004). Practical experiences, however, prove that
these approaches do not provide solutions for effective on-the-job
learning. Only basic information security skills may be learned
by traditional training programs. Business people are busy and not
genuinely interested in using ordinary e-learning means. In the
first stage of e-learning it was understood only as usage of new
technological solutions facilitating distant learning and automation
of certain training activities. The next stage was the development
of particular "learning management systems" in order to
manage training activities comprehensively. Here we confront the
same problems as in the quality system approaches in the European
universities (EU, 2000). Still traditional training theories and
practices are followed in learning management systems, e.g. training
is still based on course structures. Experiences at least in business
environments have not been encouraging. The learning systems are
too expensive and stereotyped, the learning too boring, the search
of material (learning objects) too cumbersome, the reusable objects
not really reusable. One should note that also the decay time of
knowledge - and especially needed by business management and ICT
governance - has been remarkably shortened.
Behaviorism and objectivism, cognitivism and pragmatism, and constructivism
and interpretivism have been the most significant learning theories
and traditions utilized until now in the training and education.
Learning needs and theories that describe learning principles and
processes should be reflective of today's underlying social environments.
Quality in e-learning requires application of new learning theory-approaches
like connectivity, interactivity, and sharing information (Gloor,
2004). New social software technology gives possibilities to realize
these new learning theories in practical cases particularly in business
organizational environments. It also facilitated learning in networks
which is now practical situation in all business cases. (Siemens,
2006) (Siemens, 2004) (Downes, 2004)
Today learning objects are not presented ordered, in a sequence,
but randomly, unordered. That does not take place in classrooms
or schools but in the living/working environment, where people find
themselves. We don't present them at all, we contribute them to
the conversation, and we become part of the conversation. They are
not just text and tests; they are our publications and speeches,
our thoughts in real-time conversation and communication.
Leadership and expertise emphasize personal and human aspects in
carrying out business resources and actions, and are based on persons'
inherent understanding, knowledge and behaviours. A great challenge
is to combine explicit and tacit knowledge in all management and
expert decisions, and to get knowledge moved from individuals within
the whole organization between different actors, and from tacit
domain to explicit domain and also vice versa. Working collaboratively
by using intellectual capacity of the whole organization is the
target for business benefits. A well-known foundation for knowledge
transformation has been created by Dr. Nonaka and his Japanese co-researchers.
They defined the SECI process for knowledge transformation from
tacit to explicit and vice verse: Socialization - Externalization
- Combination - Internalization of the knowledge (Nonaka et al,
2000).
Modern learning environments are to facilitate effective and efficient
knowledge-intensive and networked learning activities. These environments
provide means for learning through improving interactive and collaborative
communication of management, and building social knowledge and intelligence.
Learning is integrated with people's normal activities.
The new facilities are to realize new learning theories in practical
cases in educational institutes and organizations. They facilitate
learning in networks which is situation in all practical cases.
Knowledge-intensive networked learning facilities (Anttila, 2006)
consist of ability to lead learners into electronic work areas (figure
4), where they operate in collaboration to learn by building new
knowledge. They have also all relevant explicit information easily
available through related documents. The basic tools include blog,
wiki, aggregator, forums, and files that are based on modern proved
social software or Web 2.0 technology (O'Reilly, 2005). Software
for the tools-components is typically created by the open source
software community that is the biggest resource in the world for
developing software products. Software is inexpensive compared with
large e-learning systems, or they are available free of charge.
Open software is easy to modify and customize, and it provides rapid
application development. (Arina, 2006)
The method of reflecting on experience (blogs) and building knowledge
models (wiki) collectively produces results that can be blogged
further to other teams or individuals. This creates a digital pipeline
or an intelligent link for knowledge building. Technology of these
tools and popularity of their benefits have been proved in large
scale public use in Internet. Now a big challenge is to use those
tools also internally in organizational business purposes and especially
in the business management process. Within collaborative learning
environments, learning evaluation can be also carried out by using
new interactive evaluation methodologies (ZEF, 2006).
Information security expertise is a very suitable example of specialized
learning where this new learning approach can be used. It is strongly
knowledge-based collaborative and innovative activity, and typically
involved in organizations by board of directors, executing managers,
selected experts, personnel and stakeholders' representatives. Especially
benefits of using this approach are obvious in cases where participants
are geographically scattered and where arranging synchronous of
physical meetings is difficult.
Figure 4. An example of a practical user interface to the knowledge-intensive
collaborative on-the-job learning environment for information security
Conclusions
It is impractical to require that everybody needs to know everything
about information security. Knowledge and skills appropriate to
each role in the information society must be identified. The needs
can be classified to three levels: basic information security literacy
level, advanced level and expert level. Users of information systems
- all members of society - should be at least basic information
security literate. In the day-to-day business life, advanced skills
of information security management are needed. At the expert level,
the developers of technical and administrative solutions need to
have a wide understanding of information security threats and solutions.
It is essential that the education world can answer the needs of
different actors in society.
Many professional certificates are nowadays used in information
security. They have been used to convince other people that the
holder of a certificate is capable to carry out tasks in information
security. However the certification programs ensure only very basic
knowledge that may even be rather superficial and stereotyped.
Traditional training and education approaches are not enough for
information security in the modern knowledge-intensive businesses
and societies. New learning theories and new practical Web 2.0 applications
have proves effective and useful in learning based on increasing
degree on connectivity, degree of interactivity, and degree of sharing
information between experts, business leaders, and ordinary citizens.
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[This text is based on a paper of Juhani Anttila, Reijo Savola,
Jorma Kajava, Juha Lindfors and Juha Röning presented at
The
6th Annual Security Conference in Las Vegas,USA in 2007]