De Nobrega, Kristel M.Rutkowski, Anne-F.Saunders, Carol S.2025-01-212025-01-212024-12De Nobrega, K.M, Rutkowski, A.-F., Saunders, C. 2024, 'The whole of cyber defense : syncing practice and theory', Journal of Strategic Information Systems, vol. 33, pp. 101861, pp. 1-27. https://DOI.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2024.101861.0963-8687 (print)1873-1198 (online)10.1016/j.jsis.2024.101861http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100211The paper is drawn in part from and extends the dissertation of the lead author: de Nobrega, K. (2023). Cyber defensive capacity and capability: A perspective from the financial sector of a small state. [Doctoral Thesis, Tilburg University]. CentER, Center for Economic Research.This review explores the problems Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and other cyber professionals face when defending their organization against cyberattacks. Using a Cyber Defense Grid, which was developed based on military science and cybersecurity concepts and terminology, we coded 125 articles published in Information Systems (IS) journals. We also employed three avenues (i.e., lenses) from cybernetic theory to frame the coding results to derive cyber defense strategies. In particular, we propose three strategic cyber defense modes: reactive, heuristic, and proactive. Taken together, these three modes suggest ways in which organizations can react strategically within the whole cyber defense domain.en© 2024 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.Cyber defenseCyber securityCyber defense strategiesCybernetic avenueMilitary scienceCyber defense modesLiterature reviewSDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsSDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructureArticle