The Challenges of Communication by Multilinguals in Cybersecurity in Global Organisations

ABSTRACT
In today’s globalised digital world, cybersecurity has become a vital concern for organisations operating across diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. As multilingual teams become the norm in cybersecurity environments, communication challenges often hinder collaboration, threat intelligence sharing, and operational efficiency. This study investigates the challenges faced by multilingual professionals in global cybersecurity teams, focusing on the roles of language proficiency, translation tool usage, and cultural diversity. The research adopted a descriptive survey design and collected data from 80 cybersecurity professionals working in international organisations. The data was analysed using regression analysis to test three hypotheses. The first hypothesis revealed that language proficiency significantly affects the effectiveness of cybersecurity communication. The second hypothesis showed that the use of translation tools has a notable impact on the accuracy of threat intelligence sharing. The third hypothesis demonstrated that cultural backgrounds influence collaboration effectiveness. All three models were statistically significant, with p-values below 0.05. These findings suggest that multilingual communication barriers, if not addressed, can undermine the overall performance and security of global teams. The study recommends that organisations invest in language development, improve the deployment of reliable translation technologies, and foster cultural awareness to strengthen collaboration, reduce miscommunication, and enhance cybersecurity outcomes across borders.