Digital transformation has become one of the most popular strategies for information systems (IS). Developing and implementing a digital strategy is a mandatory task for any organization that relies on information systems. In this digital age, an IS/IT strategy without security considerations could lead to serious data breaches. Despite all countermeasures, security remains a major concern in digital transformation, as digitization is misjudged and brings with it major security concerns. The digitization of manual goods, processes and services, as well as their use, leads to various security issues in different organizations. The aim of this study is to identify and analyze elements that are typical barriers to digital innovation in organizations. This study addresses common elements that impact the security of digital transformation through a literature review and a case study.

The integration of security aspects into software development is an open topic, especially in highly regulated industries where standards are accompanied by a high degree of complexity. The research question of this paper relates to the misconception of industry standards compliance and security in the field of software development. Cyber attackers are constantly inventing new tools to penetrate systems and exploit even the most minor flaws, and adherence to an industry standard is not a solution. In this study, an empirical investigation is conducted over a six-month period to observe various customer relationship management (CRM) systems. To analyze and anticipate the vulnerabilities of various CRMs, penetration testing methodologies and cross-project prediction approaches are employed. Classification using multiple machine learning approaches is utilized in the study to increase the discovery of vulnerable components in each CRM. The Student [Formula: see text]-test is also used to assess if the mean values of the two CRM datasets are substantially different from each other in order to evaluate the efficacy of overall security and its features. The results show that security best practices during application development have a significant influence on applications created in regulated environments. The action research approach used to validate this study provided positive results and its feasibility in practice to optimize security throughout the application development. This study adds to the literature on information security management systems (ISMS) and best practices in application development in terms of creating and implementing opportunities based on broader information security management measures.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a model called “IaaS adoption” to identify the various challenges and precise implications that hinder the adoption of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) in Germany. Design/methodology/approach The model was validated by an online survey of 208 bank employees. Findings The study found that the nine-five-circle factors (data security, risk and trust) and other factors proved to be statistically significant challenges for IaaS acceptance among banks in Germany. Originality/value The adoption of cloud technology and its advantages is still a critical issue for the conventional banking sectors in Germany.

Purpose This paper aims to develop an effective information security policy (ISP), which is an important mechanism to combat insider threats. Design/methodology/approach A general framework based on the Nine-Five-circle was proposed for developing, implementing and evaluating an organisation's ISP. Findings The proposed framework outlines the steps involved in developing, implementing and evaluating a successful ISP. Research limitations/implications The study took place in Germany, and most of the data was collected virtually due to the different locations of the organisation. Practical implications In practice, this study can be a guide for managers to design a robust ISP that employees will read and follow. Social implications Employee compliance with the ISP is a critical aspect in any organisation and therefore a rigorous strategy based on a systematic approach is required. Originality/value The main contribution of the paper is the application of a comprehensive and coherent model that can be the first step in defining a “checklist” for creating and managing ISPs.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically analyse the key factors that influence the adoption of financial technology innovation in the country Germany. The advancement of mobile devices and their usage have increased the uptake of financial technology (FinTech) innovation. Financial sectors and startups see FinTech as a gateway to increase business opportunities, but mobile applications and other technology platforms must be launched to explore such opportunities. Mobile application security threats have increased tremendously and have become a challenge for both users and FinTech innovators. In this paper, the authors empirically inspect the components that influence the expectations of both users and organizations to adopt FinTech, such as customer trust, data security, value added, user interface design and FinTech promotion. The empirical results definitely confirm that data security, customer trust and the user design interface affect the adoption of FinTech. Existing studies have used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to address this issue. The outcomes of this study can be used to improve the performance of FinTech strategies and enable banks to achieve economies of scale for global intensity. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors empirically consider factors that influence the expectations of both users and organizations in adopting FinTech, such as customer trust, data security, value added, the user design interface and FinTech promotion. The results confirm that customer trust, data security and the user design interface affect the adoption of FinTech. This research proposes a model called “Intention to adopt FinTech in Germany,” constructs of which were developed based on the TAM and five additional components, as identified. The outcomes of this study can be used to improve the performance of FinTech strategies and enable banks to achieve economies of scale for global intensity. Findings The authors demonstrated that the number of mobile users in Germany is rapidly increasing; yet the adoption of FinTech is extremely sluggish. It is intriguing to reckon that 99 per cent of respondents had mobile devices, but only 10 per cent recognized FinTech. Further, it is significantly discouraging to perceive that only 10 of the 209 respondents had ever used FinTech services, representing under 1 per cent of the surveyed respondents. It is obvious that the FinTech incubators and banks offering FinTech services need to persuade their customers regarding the usefulness and value added advantages of FinTech. This study has been carried out to determine the key factors that influence and provoke FinTech adoption. Research limitations/implications There are a few limitations in this study. Initially, this study focuses on FinTech implementation in Germany and not the whole of Europe. In addition, demographic and regional factors could be consolidated to inspect their particular impact on the intention to use FinTech services, particularly among younger users with a high interest in technology. Without these constraints, the authors could have gathered additional data for a more robust result and obtained new knowledge to further upgrade polices to enhance the FinTech adoption process. Future analysts can assist exploration of this topic by altering determinants in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. Additionally, because the cluster sampling technique was used, the reported outcomes are not 100 per cent generalized to the German population. To accomplish a complete generalization, a basic random sampling strategy for the whole population is essential. The authors could also alleviate some limitations by examining how online vendors are performing with regard to FinTech to satisfy the needs of customers via case studies. Practical implications This study was conducted in Germany and might have produced different results if held in other countries, as technology acceptance is different in a different environment. For instance, the authors suspect that the results would be somewhat different, were the research to be conducted in the United Kingdom, where take-up of FinTech appears to be far greater than in Germany. Therefore, the authors’ results are only generalized for the country of Germany and not other geographical areas. Furthermore, respondents may have been influenced by past experiences about FinTech usage which might have led them to neglect to answer some questions. In spite of this, this study did not consider the influence of moderating variables such as age, education and FinTech services experience. The authors also neglected social impact and control factors, as their corresponding items disregarded the instrument dependability. Accordingly, the authors could not quantify social impact and control factors on FinTech use. Social implications The outcomes of this study can be used to improve the performance of FinTech strategies and enable banks to accomplish economies of scale for global intensity. The authors do hope that this paper will serve to encourage FinTech innovators in their approach to FinTech and enable FinTech researchers to use past work with more prominent certainty, resulting in rigid hypothesis improvement in the future. Originality/value A considerable amount of revenue has been invested in the information technology (IT) infrastructure of banks to enhance their performance, but investment in IT remains a substantial risk regarding the return on investment (Carlson, 2015). Most banks and financial organizations around the globe are engaging in an extreme pressure from their customers and competitors to enhance IT.

Purpose The aim of this study is to encourage management boards to recognize that employees play a major role in the management of information security. Thus, these issues need to be addressed efficiently, especially in organizations in which data are a valuable asset. Design/methodology/approach Before developing the instrument for the survey, first, effective measurement built upon existing literature review was identified and developed and the survey questionnaires were set according to past studies and the findings based on qualitative analyses. Data were collected by using cross-sectional questionnaire and a Likert scale, whereby each question was related to an item as in the work of Witherspoon et al. (2013). Data analysis was done using the SPSS.3B. Findings Based on the results from three surveys and findings, a principle of information security compliance practices was proposed based on the authors’ proposed nine-five-circle (NFC) principle that enhances information security management by identifying human conduct and IT security-related issues regarding the aspect of information security management. Furthermore, the authors’ principle has enabled closing the gap between technology and humans in this study by proving that the factors in the present study’s finding are interrelated and work together, rather than on their own. Research limitations/implications The main objective of this study was to address the lack of research evidence on what mobilizes and influences information security management development and implementation. This objective has been fulfilled by surveying, collecting and analyzing data and by giving an account of the attributes that hinder information security management. Accordingly, a major practical contribution of the present research is the empirical data it provides that enable obtaining a bigger picture and precise information about the real issues that cause information security management shortcomings. Practical implications In this sense, despite the fact that this study has limitations concerning the development of a diagnostic tool, it is obviously the main procedure for the measurements of a framework to assess information security compliance policies in the organizations surveyed. Social implications The present study’s discoveries recommend in actuality that using flexible tools that can be scoped to meet individual organizational needs have positive effects on the implementation of information security management policies within an organization. Accordingly, the research proposes that organizations should forsake the oversimplified generalized guidelines that neglect the verification of the difference in information security requirements in various organizations. Instead, they should focus on the issue of how to sustain and enhance their organization’s compliance through a dynamic compliance process that involves awareness of the compliance regulation, controlling integration and closing gaps. Originality/value The rapid growth of information technology (IT) has created numerous business opportunities. At the same time, this growth has increased information security risk. IT security risk is an important issue in industrial sectors, and in organizations that are innovating owing to globalization or changes in organizational culture. Previously, technology-associated risk assessments focused on various technology factors, but as of the early twenty-first century, the most important issue identified in technology risk studies is the human factor.