Operations in the cyber domain - an inventory of international research

This report describes an inventory of research in the years 2013-2018 on operations in the cyber domain, i.e., research on antagonistic threats to networked computers. The inventory was based on an analysis of three different selections of a total of 3587 research papers identified by database searches in Scopus. The selection consisted of the most cited articles, papers from the highest ranked journals and conferences, and reviews. The papers were published in many different journals and conferences, only half of which have cyber security focus. Among the most recurring prominent organisations behind the papers are several from China and one each from France, Saudi Arabia, and Germany. As a whole, eleven countries recur as the most prolific producers of research, while Sweden is steady around place twenty. Weighting against countries' general expenditure in research and development showed the United Kingdom, Australia and Greece as three of the top countries and they also produce a lot from an unweighted perspective. Finland and Portugal are also in the top when weighting. Sweden is particularly effective for the selection of reviews. Among the countries and regions that write the least number of research articles in relation to their investments are Russia, Japan and Taiwan. A comparison with a previous inventory on only Swedish research shows a large overlap in terms of research topics between Swedish and international research, although some specific domains that seem to characterise Swedish research are not visible in an international context. This type of inventory can be performed regularly in order to quickly detect novelties and trends. In relation to this, countries' research expenditure and research calls may be closer studied to discover successful methods of supporting research and where it is heading. As a whole, the report can provide a basis for stakeholders who wish to maintain research capacity within the research area, be a competent customer of others' knowledge, or collaborate with others.