SYMBALS: A Systematic Review Methodology Blending Active Learning and Snowballing

Haastrecht, Max van; Sarhan, Injy; Özkan, Bilge Yiğit; Brinkhuis, Matthieu; Spruit, Marco

doi:10.3389/frma.2021.685591

Cited by 41 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(145 reference statements)

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“…Before proposing our methodology, we should investigate current approaches to using shared CTI. We conducted this investigation via a systematic literature review using the SYMBALS [34] methodology. SYMBALS combines the use of active learning techniques to speed up the title and abstract screening phase of a review, with backward snowballing to ensure adequate coverage of the literature.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Shared Cyber Threat Intelligence Solution for SMEs

Haastrecht

Golpur²,

Tzismadia³

et al. 2021

Electronics

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Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) frequently experience cyberattacks, but often do not have the means to counter these attacks. Therefore, cybersecurity researchers and practitioners need to aid SMEs in their defence against cyber threats. Research has shown that SMEs require solutions that are automated and adapted to their context. In recent years, we have seen a surge in initiatives to share cyber threat intelligence (CTI) to improve collective cybersecurity resilience. Shared CTI has the potential to answer the SME call for automated and adaptable solutions. Sadly, as we demonstrate in this paper, current shared intelligence approaches scarcely address SME needs. We must investigate how shared CTI can be used to improve SME cybersecurity resilience. In this paper, we tackle this challenge using a systematic review to discover current state-of-the-art approaches to using shared CTI. We find that threat intelligence sharing platforms such as MISP have the potential to address SME needs, provided that the shared intelligence is turned into actionable insights. Based on this observation, we developed a prototype application that processes MISP data automatically, prioritises cybersecurity threats for SMEs, and provides SMEs with actionable recommendations tailored to their context. Subsequent evaluations in operational environments will help to improve our application, such that SMEs are enabled to thwart cyberattacks in future.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since pure active learning approaches tend to miss out on certain relevant papers, van Haastrecht et al [34] proposed to complement the active learning phase with a backward snowballing phase. Backward snowballing refers to the practice of finding new relevant papers from the references of inclusions [37].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Shared Cyber Threat Intelligence Solution for SMEs

Haastrecht

Golpur²,

Tzismadia³

et al. 2021

Electronics

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“…This study did not identify all relevant grey literature, but rather sought grey literature iteratively as the review developed per the SYMBALS protocol described in the methods (van Haastrecht et al, 2021). This strategy helped with the management of the breadth of concepts within the broad topic of contaminated sites and Indigenous communities and enabled the gathering of multiple perspectives on a single concept, as opposed to single perspectives on multiple topics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contaminated Sites and Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the United States: A Scoping Review

Chong

Basu

2022

Preprint

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Background: Indigenous communities in Canada and the US are disproportionately exposed to contaminated sites, often arising from industrial and waste disposal activities. For instance, ~34% of US EPA Superfund sites are of Native American interest, and ~29% of Canadian federal contaminated sites are on Indigenous reserve land. Contaminated sites pose unique challenges to many Indigenous peoples who consider the land as an integral part of food systems, culture, and the economy. Federal management of contaminated sites is challenged by epistemological differences, regulatory barriers, and minimal scientific research. Objectives: This scoping review aimed to identify and map information on contaminated sites and Indigenous peoples in Canada and the US, namely: 1) the relationship between contaminated sites and Indigenous people, and their land and food systems; 2) strategies, challenges, and successes for contaminated sites assessment and management on Indigenous land; and 3) Indigenous leadership and inclusion in contaminated site assessment and management. Methods: Three streams of data were retrieved from January to March 2022: a systematic literature search (key word groups: Indigenous people and contaminated sites); a grey literature search; and an analysis of federal contaminated site data (Canadian Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory and US EPA Superfund Database). Results: Our search yielded 49 peer-reviewed articles, 20 pieces of grey literature, and 8114 federal site records (1236 Superfund, 6878 FCSI), evidencing the contamination of the lands of 815 distinct Indigenous tribes and nations and the presence of 440 different contaminants or contaminant groups. Minimal information is available on the potential health and ecological effects, assessment and management of risks, and collaboration on contaminated site processes relative to the number of sites on or adjacent to Indigenous lands. Discussion: By integrating three diverse data streams we discovered a multi-disciplinary yet disparate body of information. The results point to a need to prioritize holism, efficiency, and Indigenous leadership in contaminated site assessment, management, and research. This should include a focus on community-specific approaches to site assessment and management; a re-conceptualization of risks related to sites that privileges Indigenous epistemologies; greater collaboration between networks such as the scientific community, Indigenous communities, and federal governments; and a re-evaluation of current management frameworks with Indigenous leadership at the forefront.

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“…We performed a systematic literature review to address our research questions. To ensure broad coverage of the cybersecurity metrics field, we employed a novel systematic review methodology blending active learning and snowballing (SYMBALS, [58]), which combines existing methods into a swift and accessible methodology, while following authoritative systematic review guidelines [59][60][61].…”

Section: Systematic Review Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We believe in the construct validity of our systematic review methodology SYM-BALS [58], as it is based on widely-accepted methods [62,63] and guidelines [59][60][61]. However, it is still a novel methodology that remains to be extensively tested.…”

Section: Limitations and Threats To Validitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Respite for SMEs: A Systematic Review of Socio-Technical Cybersecurity Metrics

et al. 2021

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Cybersecurity threats are on the rise, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle to cope with these developments. To combat threats, SMEs must first be willing and able to assess their cybersecurity posture. Cybersecurity risk assessment, generally performed with the help of metrics, provides the basis for an adequate defense. Significant challenges remain, however, especially in the complex socio-technical setting of SMEs. Seemingly basic questions, such as how to aggregate metrics and ensure solution adaptability, are still open to debate. Aggregation and adaptability are vital topics to SMEs, as they require the assimilation of metrics into an actionable advice adapted to their situation and needs. To address these issues, we systematically review socio-technical cybersecurity metric research in this paper. We analyse aggregation and adaptability considerations and investigate how current findings apply to the SME situation. To ensure that we provide valuable insights to researchers and practitioners, we integrate our results in a novel socio-technical cybersecurity framework geared towards the needs of SMEs. Our framework allowed us to determine a glaring need for intuitive, threat-based cybersecurity risk assessment approaches for the least digitally mature SMEs. In the future, we hope our framework will help to offer SMEs some deserved respite by guiding the design of suitable cybersecurity assessment solutions.

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SYMBALS: A Systematic Review Methodology Blending Active Learning and Snowballing

Cited by 41 publications

References 53 publications

A Shared Cyber Threat Intelligence Solution for SMEs

A Shared Cyber Threat Intelligence Solution for SMEs

Contaminated Sites and Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the United States: A Scoping Review

Respite for SMEs: A Systematic Review of Socio-Technical Cybersecurity Metrics

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