On Monday, November 9, 2026, doctoral candidate Robert Kopal successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled “A methodological framework for intelligence analysis in cyber security”.

The defense committee consisted of Prof. Dr. Vedran Dakić and Prof. Dr. Zoran Levnajić.

He completed his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Borut Rončević and co-supervisor Prof. Dr. Leo Mršič.

ABSTRACT

This doctoral dissertation develops the Cyber Intelligence 2.0 Framework by integrating intelligence analysis, cybersecurity and cyber-risk approaches into a coherent methodological architecture. An iterative abductive multi-method research design combined conceptual development, expert-based refinement and calibration, experimental evaluation, analytical generalisation and interpretative validation. The findings indicate limitations in anticipatory analysis, structured reasoning, contextual interpretation and decision-oriented intelligence support in contemporary cybersecurity practice. The resulting framework integrates empirically operationalised analytical quality dimensions with intelligence-driven analytical capabilities and decision support. The dissertation provides a research-derived and empirically supported methodological framework for improving analytical quality and intelligence-informed decision making in cybersecurity.

KEYWORDS: cyber intelligence, intelligence analysis, cybersecurity, cyber risk, analytical quality, decision support

Sincere congratulations!