Journal Entry 1: The NICE Workforce Framework

Having learned about the NICE Workforce Framework, the area that I would like to
specialize in my career is Program/Project Management. I like this area because it involves
planning, organizing, and ensuring that projects are completed successfully. Leadership and
team management are strengths that I enjoy, and project management would allow me to apply
these abilities to manage individuals and keep things in motion. My least favorite field is Design
and Development. Even though I realize it’s important to create systems and tools, I’m less
interested in the technical process of creating software or in programming. I would prefer to
concentrate on planning and project management as opposed to designing or programming.
In general, I am most drawn towards the management facet of cybersecurity, where I get to
combine leadership and safety, and least drawn towards the technical development and design
end.

Journal Entry 2: How does the principle of empiricism enhance the effectiveness of cybersecurity practices?

The empiricism principle helps to support cybersecurity by utilizing tangible evidence for decision making as opposed to speculation. By collecting data and analyzing past attacks, organizations are able to anticipate attack k patterns and emerging threats before they spread. Empirical data also allows security teams to experiment and measure the effectiveness of existing defenses rather than speculate. For example, logs and intrusion attempts can be used to detect vulnerabilities that have not been encountered before. This empirical approach signifies that the strategies are continually being revised to address evolving threats. Overall, empiricism enhances cybersecurity as it makes it proactive, responsive, and based on tested outcomes instead of speculation

Journal Entry 3: Research PrivacyRights.org to see the types of publicly available information about data breaches. How might researchers use this information to study breaches and forecast future data breach trends? 

PrivacyRights.org’s “Data Breach Chronology” contains publicly accessible data such as the number of records leaked, the type of information leaked, like names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, date of data breach, organization, and how the breach was done. Analysts can then use that data to identify trends over time, like which industries are hit hardest, what kind of information is most frequently targeted, or which kinds of breaches are increasing. From those trends, they can forecast where breaches will increase, inform policy recommendations, and help organizations gauge and maximize security spending