Cybersecurity Certificate Selection Process: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

Abstract

Organizations that face the threat of cyberattacks protect against those threats, in part, by hiring cybersecurity professionals who have both relevant experience and information security/cybersecurity certifications. Cybersecurity certificates vary in many aspects, involve costs, and offer associated potential financial returns. Given the large number of cybersecurity certificates available, the decision of which one(s) to pursue may not necessarily be straightforward. In this paper, we illustrate the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for cybersecurity certificate selection. Our analysis identifies six of 18 certifications considered that demonstrate a maximal relative efficiency, and we analyze why the other certifications are relatively inefficient.