Abstract: This article describes that the information security gains importance with the expansion of Internet access, since the countries and businesses spent more and more time and resources to combat cyber-attacks. The goal of this research consists in the review of foreign literature related to the problems of information and cybersecurity. The author summarizes the empirical studies on various types of cyber-attacks, contributing factors associated with safe behavior within the information space, as well as state and private strategies of increasing the effectiveness of information security. The content analysis of the existing foreign scientific literature for the period from 2005 to 2017 became the key research method. The most developed train of research in this area was focused on the strategies of improving human behavior for the creation of safe information environment. The author also underlines a questionable tendency towards the rapid development and decision-making without full understanding of the problem of information security.