Briah Croom

Dr. Armstrong 

CYSE 201S

12/3/2022

Career Paper

Cybersecurity is a job group that keeps on growing. Around the country there are hundreds of thousands of job openings in cybersecurity and the number of jobs seem to keep increasing. There are many different career paths that someone in the cybersecurity field can take, and the majority of those careers have to deal with social sciences in some way. Social sciences play a very important role in the different cybersecurity careers because even though cybersecurity is technology based, it still has to account for the human mindset. One of the many roles in the cybersecurity field is a cybersecurity analyst. The cybersecurity analyst has many different responsibilities, which range from identifying flaws in their employer’s security system to examining reports (“Cybersecurity Analyst Job Description & Role Breakdown – UT Austin Boot Camps”). Cybersecurity analysts use the research and principles given to them by social scientists to help them achieve success with the task that they deal with on a daily basis. Cybersecurity uses many different social sciences to understand the reasons behind cyber threats. 

Even though many people believe that cybersecurity is based solely on computers and technology, there is a social science aspect that is constantly being overlooked. There are six different types of social sciences which include anthropology, criminology, economics, geography, psychology, and sociology. These all play an important role in a cybersecurity analyst’s day to day work life. Anthropology, geography, and sociology are all social sciences that deal mostly with people’s cultures. The world has many different unique cultures that all have different beliefs and reasons behind their actions. A person in India might not have the same hacking skills as a person in Australia. Education, culture, and reasoning are just a few of the possible ways that their hacking skills may be different. There are also cultures in workplaces. Offices can have hundreds of people from many different places that all have different backgrounds. All of the people in the office have to work together to make sure that their job is done at the end of the day, regardless of where they come from. As a cybersecurity analyst they use the research gathered by anthropologists and sociologists to try to figure out the hacking style and the origin of the hack. Economics, criminology and psychology are the social sciences that cybersecurity analysts deal with the most in their jobs. Cybersecurity analysts use the research that economists produce to make the best decisions for their companies and organizations. Cybersecurity analysts have to deal with the risk assessments that come with dealing with the resources they are given. They need to know if the system that they are using is worth the cost of operations. One of the jobs that analysts have is to “monitor computer networks and systems for threats and security breaches” (“Cybersecurity Analyst Job Description & Role Breakdown – UT Austin Boot Camps”). There are many different reasons why people breach computer networks and systems, just like there are many reasons that people commit other crimes. As a cybersecurity analyst, you have to use the research provided by criminologists and psychologists to try to find out why the offender is offending. They can use things like the CIA risk triangle and field studies provided by psychologists to figure out how the perpetrator got into the system. They can also set up honeypots and use them and the research provided by social scientists to study the offender. You have to try to figure out if it is some bored kid trying to prove a point or some terrorist trying to tear down an infrastructure. The reason behind hacking is just as important as the hack itself. Social science and cybersecurity go hand in hand regardless of the job you have. It is very important to use the research and principles given to them so that they can do their job the best way possible.

Like many STEM majors, cybersecurity is a male dominated field. There are currently more than 14,796 cybersecurity analysts in the United States and only 21.5% of them are female (“Cyber Security Analyst Demographics and Statistics [2022]: Number Of Cyber Security Analysts In The US”). As a woman in tech, there are many challenges that you could possibly face. One of those is the wage gap. For every $1 a man makes, a woman earns only $0.95 (“Cyber Security Analyst Demographics and Statistics [2022]: Number Of Cyber Security Analysts In The US”). A woman and man could do the same job, and the woman will still most likely be paid less. Another challenge that comes with the lack of women who are cybersecurity analysts is that many young women who want to become an analyst have a lack of mentors to look up to. Having a woman in a senior position can help other women build confidence, enhance their skills, and set career goals (Foyster). It also gives younger women someone to aspire to be like and lets them know it is possible to one day be in that position. Lastly, a lack of women in the workplace leads to less diversity in the ideas that are created. Having many different people from different backgrounds ensures that the ideas that are being thrown out have many different points of views. If a company had a bunch of like-minded people working the same thing, they might not come back with the best solution. There are plenty of job opportunities in cybersecurity that women can and should do. The world needs more cybersecurity analysts, and they need more women to fill these positions. While there are some negatives, there are just as many positives. A steady income, job security, and countless opportunities for promotions are just a few of the positives that women should look at when thinking about joining the cybersecurity workforce. 

Technology is now a part of the majority of the world’s everyday life. It is extremely hard to find a place that does not use technology anymore. Technology has many wonderful benefits, but there is always a chance that it can be attacked at any moment in time. That is why cybersecurity was created. In order to protect the information of others that people are trying to steal. Cybersecurity analysts work hard to keep individuals, governments, and company’s private information safe. They try to detect any threats, develop systems for security purposes, make reports on security incidents, and much more (“Cybersecurity Analyst Job Description & Role Breakdown – UT Austin Boot Camps”). It is their job to try to keep society safe from the constant attacks from around the globe. As society continues to transition to a more technology heavy place, it is important to have cybersecurity analysts there to make sure that everything is moving smoothly. 

Cybersecurity analysts have a big job to do. They have to make sure that the technology that everyone relies on is safe to use. They use the tools and research given to them by many different social scientists to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Criminologists, economists, and psychologists are just a few of the researchers that help the field of cybersecurity as it continues to grow. Women make up almost half of the world’s population, but there are so few of them who work as cybersecurity analysts. There is plenty of space and opportunity there for them, but unfortunately there are still some challenges that they face when they work there. Cybersecurity analysts aren’t just good for companies and the government, they are also super important for society too. Society relies too heavily on technology to not have people protecting it. Cybersecurity analysts do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the technology that is being used

Works Cited

“Cyber Security Analyst Demographics and Statistics [2022]: Number Of Cyber Security Analysts In The US.” Zippia, 9 September 2022, https://www.zippia.com/cyber-security-analyst-jobs/demographics/. Accessed 5 December 2022.

“Cybersecurity Analyst Job Description & Role Breakdown – UT Austin Boot Camps.” UT Austin Boot Camps, https://techbootcamps.utexas.edu/blog/cybersecurity-analyst-job-description-role-breakdown/. Accessed 5 December 2022.Foyster, Robyn. “Challenges and Opportunities for Women in Cybersecurity.” Women Love Tech, 29 March 2021, https://womenlovetech.com/challenges-and-opportunities-for-women-in-cybersecurity/. Accessed 5 December 2022.