Presentation of the Doctoral Dissertation Titled “Cybersecurity and its Role in Protecting and Securing Digital Documents.”

Abstract

This study addresses the escalation of cross-border cybercrimes and the threats they pose to national security and economic stability, focusing specifically on the gap between the requirements of the international standard ISO 27110 (Guidelines for Developing a Cybersecurity Framework) and their practical implementation within organizations, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. The study aims to clarify the concept of cybersecurity and its relationship to information security, analyze the normative framework of the aforementioned standard, evaluate the current state of digital document governance at Ateco Pharma, and assess cybersecurity maturity levels and gap analysis to propose an actionable framework for improvement. Therefore, the study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach combined with a case study design. It utilizes a diverse set of research tools, including interviews, document analysis, structured observation, and an ISO-based checklist, applied directly to Ateco Pharma.
The results established the critical importance of cybersecurity as a fundamental pillar of national security. It demonstrated that cyberattacks are not constrained by geographical boundaries, but rather characterized by increasing sophistication and complexity, making it difficult to trace and identify their perpetrators. The findings further indicated that international standards provide a comprehensive framework based on five core principles: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. The study, moreover, revealed a complementary relationship between the ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management System and the ISO 27110 Cybersecurity Framework. From an applied perspective, the study found that even though Ateco Pharma had not formally adopted the relevant standard, the company had nevertheless implemented several incident detection and protection mechanisms, including firewalls, security software, and network access control. The study concluded with a set of key recommendations, including the promotion of a cybersecurity culture, the continuous training of specialized human resources, the enhancement of flexible legislation and policies, and the adoption of modern technologies, such as encryption and data backup. The recommendations further emphasized the establishment of incident response teams and the strengthening of cooperation with specialized authorities.