Exploring Socio-technical Gaps in the Cybersecurity of Energy Informatics for Sustainability

A comprehensive approach to sustainability in cybersecurity in the energy sector should include both technical and nontechnical dimensions. Unfortunately, the literature on cyber security is overly technocentric, as well as the literature has neglected to consider an overall perspective on cyber defenses and cyber measures. This chapter thus tackles this issue. In particular, we conducted a review of nontechnical articles on cybersecurity to understand how nontechnical issues have been studied in cybersecurity in energy informatics research. The findings revealed seven nontechnical issues that have been discussed in the literature: education, human, awareness, policy, geography, standards, and risks, challenges, & solutions. Based on these findings, the chapter discussed socio-technical gaps in cyber security practices in the energy informatics field. The chapter argues that closing those socio-technical gaps would enable organizations to have a holistic approach to cybersecurity in response to cyber threats in a socio-technical manner, helping to sustain an energy system. Moreover, the chapter suggests that future research and practice on cybersecurity in energy informatics should be addressing security threats and vulnerabilities without emphasizing one aspect more than the other. The technical, social, and environmental dimensions of organizational work practices should be considered equally important.