Research objectives and hypothesis/research questions:
The primary objective of this study is to identify the key success factors for embedding digital asset protection within the broader framework of corporate governance. The research is founded on the hypothesis that the effectiveness of digital protection is significantly higher in organizations where cybersecurity is managed as a strategic risk rather than a technical cost.

Research methods:
This study is grounded in Systems Theory and the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) perspective, which views cybersecurity as an interaction between technology, people, and organizational hierarchy. The research procedure was executed in three distinct stages: a systematic review of contemporary literature on the subject, a comparative analysis of international security frameworks (specifically ISO/IEC 27001 and NIST), and the subsequent synthesis of an integrated four-layer management model. The methodology relies on qualitative research methods, specifically qualitative content analysis of academic journals and industry standards. The research instruments utilized include standardized data extraction sheets for thematic coding and the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) framework to evaluate organizational progress. By employing these qualitative tools, the study identifies the intersection points where technical controls become strategic management assets, ensuring that the resulting model is both theoretically sound and practically applicable to modern organizations.

Main results:
The research concludes that a lack of executive level engagement and „siloed” IT structures are the primary barriers to effective defense, leading to the development of a four-layer model that integrates governance, end-to-end processes, performance measurement, and maturity-based continuous improvement.

Implications for theory and practice:
Theoretically, this study shifts the academic focus from infrastructure protection to cybersecurity governance by treating security decisions as fundamental business resource allocations. Practically, it mandates that organizations integrate digital risk into Enterprise Risk Management frameworks, prioritize cyber resilience over simple prevention, and move away from „paper-based” compliance toward a functional security culture.