Toward a cybersecurity social contract: citizen perspectives on governance, trust, and responsibility in democratic contexts

Key Points

• To explore citizen perspectives on cybersecurity governance, trust, and responsibility in democratic settings.
• Qualitative interviews with diverse citizen groups
• Thematic analysis of perspectives on governance and responsibility
• Discussion of trust in cybersecurity frameworks
• Citizens express concerns over transparency in governance of cybersecurity
• Trust in cybersecurity systems is critically linked to perceived accountability
• Responsibility in cybersecurity is seen as a collective societal obligation