CONVINCED BUT UNPREPARED: A PILOT MEASUREMENT OF CYBERSECURITY PREPAREDNESS IN SLOVAK SMES

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly becoming targets of cyberattacks. Their preparedness in Slovakia, however, is rarely measured. This study develops and pilots a survey instrument for assessing the cybersecurity preparedness of SMEs. The questionnaire has six parts. Four of them contain an attitudinal scale and form the measured dimensions of preparedness: technological preparedness and compatibility, process preparedness and response management, the perceived benefit of cybersecurity technologies for employees, and strategic and development orientation. The pilot survey was completed by 25 Slovak SMEs. We verified the data using Cronbach's alpha, corrected item-total correlations, and principal component analysis with Varimax rotation, together with the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. All four dimensions show acceptable internal consistency (alpha 0.673 to 0.886), and three exceed the 0.7 threshold. The technological dimension is unidimensional and explains 60.27 per cent of response variance. One problematic item was identified in the employee dimension; its removal raises alpha from 0.673 to 0.779. The rotated component matrix indicates that the strategic-financial dimension splits into two subscales: economic awareness and strategic-innovation orientation. Descriptive findings reveal a consistent gap between implementation and verification. Basic technical controls are widespread, while measures that verify their effectiveness lag behind. Regular backups are performed by 19 of the 25 firms, but only 11 test whether data can be restored. The study delivers a revised measurement framework ready for data collection on a large representative sample. It thus provides a methodological basis for the systematic data collection of cybersecurity preparedness of Slovak SMEs.