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Open research questions in Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies

172 gap statements mined from Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,816 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Yet, the specific role that the private sector is assigned within the strategy’s ‘civilian side’ remains unclear.

    Building a ‘national team’? The private sector in China’s cyber defense · 2026 · DOI

  • Using panel data on state military organizations between 2000 and 2018, this article shows that allies and bureaucratic competition affect the military design choice whereas threats are insufficient in explaining this choice.

    Beyond Threats: How Allies and Bureaucratic Competition Shape the Initial Development of Military Cyber Capabilities · 2025 · DOI

  • However, it remains unclear how the PRC's different state actors justify this approach.

    Justifying a Privacy Guardian in Discourse and Behaviour: The People’s Republic of China’s Strategic Framing in Data Governance · 2024 · DOI

  • Despite the presence of numerous international and regional regulations, enforcement remains lacking.

    Interplay of International Law and Cyberspace: State Sovereignty Violation, Extraterritorial Effects, and the Paradigm of Cyber Sovereignty · 2024 · DOI

  • The need to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach in managing cyber risks. The lack of a culture of prevention and continuous training of public agents.

    From risk to resilience: addressing cybersecurity threats in Brazil’s government digital transformation · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of effective regulation of AI and cyber warfare under international law. The complexity of applying international humanitarian law to AI and cyber warfare. The need for a nuanced understanding of international law in the context of AI and cyber warfare.

    COMPATIBILITY OF AI & CYBER WARFARE WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW · 2026 · DOI

  • The research is limited to the comparison of macro rules, and does not involve issues such as corporate compliance, technical paths, and emerging scenarios, which can be further expanded in future research to promote the construction of a new global data governance order that takes into account sovereign security, personal rights, and digital development.

    A Comparative Study on Rules for Protecting Personal Privacy in Cross-Border Data Flow-Taking China, the United States, and Europe as Examples · 2026 · DOI

  • It highlights the need for new international legal principles to balance state sovereignty with global connectivity. The paper argues that existing frameworks are inadequate for addressing the challenges of data sovereignty.

    Data Sovereignty And International Legal Frameworks: Challenges Ahead · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a comprehensive statute for cyber Alternative Dispute Resolution. The need for a hybrid model, combining the strengths of ADR and judicial oversight.

    Alternative Dispute Resolution in Cyber Crime in India · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to balance the urgency of acting while harm is in progress with the risk of unauthorized retaliation. The challenge of defining cyber self-defense during active intrusion without authorizing hack-back or extra-perimeter retaliation.

    Cyber Self‑Defense Under Active Intrusion: A Lawful, Ethical, and Operational Framework for Defensive Deception, Containment, Attribution, and Recovery · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for better data on cyber incidents. The lack of understanding of the financial impact of cyber incidents or the return on investment for protective measures.

    Cyber Security as a Necessity for Global Economic · 2026 · DOI

  • Whether this framework will generate the de facto and de jure compliance pattern characteristic of the Brussels Effect is an open question the framework can evaluate but does not predict.

    Incompatible Sovereignties: Chokepoint Conflict and the Structure of Digital Governance · 2026 · DOI

  • The article does not report fieldwork or confidential data and is limited to public materials. Many Tribal governments restrict access to internal records and citizen-level data.

    Proactive Solutions in Implementing Tribal Digital Sovereignty · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on the development of comprehensive legal and governance frameworks for Tribal Digital Sovereignty. It should explore the implementation of the four buckets of legal infrastructure in different Tribal Nations. Future research should also examine the impact of collaborative regional or inter-Tribal models on sustained digital self-governance.

    Proactive Solutions in Implementing Tribal Digital Sovereignty · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of critical analysis of digital health discourses in global health policy - The study identifies a gap in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Digital health discourses in global health: Varieties of techno-optimist depoliticisation · 2026 · DOI

  • The region's growing influence and digital maturity have made it more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The lack of adequate cybersecurity capabilities in Africa. The need for increased investment in cybersecurity capabilities in Africa.

    The Interest Behind Cyber-Attacks Targeting Africa and Attributed to the Region · 2026 · DOI

  • The research highlights the need for further study on the types and characteristics of cyber operations in the region.

    The Interest Behind Cyber-Attacks Targeting Africa and Attributed to the Region · 2026 · DOI

  • The contemporary technological order remains deeply unequal. Digital infrastructures shape the conditions under which sovereignty itself is exercised.

    Digital Sovereignty Index [v. 1.0]: An expert-coded country ranking of Digital Sovereignty · 2026 · DOI

  • In-depth country case studies will be conducted. Smaller comparative studies will be undertaken. The Digital Sovereignty Index will be iteratively updated.

    Digital Sovereignty Index [v. 1.0]: An expert-coded country ranking of Digital Sovereignty · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper relies on empirical data from Cyber Risk Assessments conducted between 2023-2025 specifically in São Paulo State Government, limiting the generalizability of findings to other Brazilian states or government contexts.

    From risk to resilience: addressing cybersecurity threats in Brazil’s government digital transformation · 2026 · DOI

  • Further analysis of the application of international humanitarian law to AI and cyber warfare. Examination of the implications of AI and cyber warfare on international law. Development of effective regulations for AI and cyber warfare under international law.

    COMPATIBILITY OF AI & CYBER WARFARE WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW · 2026 · DOI

  • To further examine the regulation of decentralised autonomous organisations and central bank digital currencies, - to explore the implications of digital infrastructure functioning as a new territory of sovereign power, - to investigate the potential for decentralised governance in digital…

    Digital Sovereignty and the Paradox of Post-Territorial Control · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap between the decentralisation norm and the centralisation reality of infrastructure control, - the gap between the universally proclaimed norm of sovereign equality and the systematic practice…

    Digital Sovereignty and the Paradox of Post-Territorial Control · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in understanding the challenge posed by digitally enabled security threats to democratic societies. The paper also identifies a gap in the development of effective countermeasures to protect democratic societies from malicious interference in the information environment.

    DIGITAL CHALLENGES FOR SECURITY AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICS: THE EU PILLARS OF INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should examine the production, reception, and use of digital health discourses by different policy actors - Future research should investigate the impact of digital health on health systems…

    Digital health discourses in global health: Varieties of techno-optimist depoliticisation · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies

Most recent work

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The specific role that the private sector is assigned within the strategy’s ‘civilian side’ remains unclear (“Building a ‘national team’? The private sector in China’s cyber defense”, 2026); (2) The lack of a culture of prevention and continuous training of public agents (“From risk to resilience: addressing cybersecurity threats in Brazil’s…”, 2026); (3) The lack of effective regulation of AI and cyber warfare under international law (“COMPATIBILITY OF AI & CYBER WARFARE WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW”, 2026); (4) The lack of a comprehensive statute for cyber Alternative Dispute Resolution (“Alternative Dispute Resolution in Cyber Crime in India”, 2026); (5) The lack of understanding of the financial impact of cyber incidents or the return on investment for protective measures (“Cyber Security as a Necessity for Global Economic”, 2026). 172 gap statements have been mined from Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,816 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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