CYSE201S | cybershekhinah

Cybersecurity and Social Sciences

Course description

Cybersecurity is typically conceived as a technical topic. In reality, the topic is multi-disciplinary, and some aspects of the topic are best understood through a social science lens. This course addresses the social, political, legal, criminological, and economic dimensions of cybersecurity through a social science framework. Students are introduced to a human-factors approach to understanding cybersecurity threats. Attention is given to the social factors that contribute to cyber incidents and the political and legal mechanisms that are developed to control the behaviors of those who create risks in cybersecurity incidents. The class also explores how cybersecurity is studied by social scientists in psychology, political science, criminology, economics, sociology, international studies, and other social science disciplines.

~Journal entries~

Journal #1 What area’s of cybersecurity would I want to explore?

All the social science branches sound so interesting that there isn’t one that I would like to focus on specifically throughout my career. I like to explore all my options and then make a decision. However, as I was planning out my classes for the semester through degree work, I noticed some specific subjects that piqued my interest the most. This includes digital forensics, cryptography, and programming. Judging from the course descriptions these classes are coding and math-heavy which ties in social sciences like Criminal Justice and leadership. Looking through the cybersecurity careers, the most interesting one to me was a digital forensics investigator. I think criminal justice is fascinating and finding clues and discovering evidence sounds amazing. The least interesting one to me was cybersecurity engineering. This career sounds very intimidating, sounds scary, and doesn’t catch my interest as the others.

Journal #2 How the principles of science relate to cybersecurity

Over time cybersecurity has grown from a broad topic into an inclusive career. Marketing, psychology, and business are all good examples however I think social science is a more effect science that benefits cybersecurity greatly. The main principals of social science that involve cybersecurity are parsimony, Empiricism, Ethical Neutrality, Determinism. These social sciences all explain the reasons why hackers/threats act and the natural reason they behave the way they do. As we further research cybersecurity, I believe psychological sciences like social sciences can be a big advantage to understanding the hackers/ threats and these principals can assist us to avoiding potential threats.

Journal #3 How might researchers use this information to study breaches?

The main offense against cybersecurity is data breaches. According to the Privacy Rights website, a data breach is a “security violation” in which protected data is plagiarized, viewed, and or stolen without permission. Approximately 612.4 million records were breached in 2023. Cybersecurity Researchers can experiment with data breaching techniques and use that vital information to develop stronger cyber protections to reduce spam, data breaches, and to protect information from any unauthorized eyes. They may also use this to further publicize discussions on how to keep our computers safe. Both of these methods can be beneficial economically, for businesses, federally, for the government, and personally for everyone that is at risk.

Journal #4 How the Maslow Hierarchy of needs relate to my experience with technology

Self Actualization: Online classes were a hard adjustment for everyone I assume, however as we are not in the COVID-19 pandemic era anymore, people either thrive in online class or really dislike them. Im in the dislike category, There are so many things that went wrong with my online zoom class experience that I just can’t go back.

Esteem needs: Everything is online even Job opportunities and that’s really the only way to know about the job, apply, and get notifications on updates. That’s how I’m currently employed.

Belongingness and love needs: Online Chat rooms, like discord, was a significant part of my life when I was younger. it was an easy to connect with people as a shy introverted child at the time. It made me feel validated, heard, and welcomed.

Safety needs: Cybersecurity offers amazing opportunities. it’s great job security which is very comforting to me. Another security precaution I always think about is online shopping. Im very skeptical about unfamiliar shopping websites like shien, fashion nova, etc. and mainly trust websites like amazon because that is only what my parents shop on. My money is important to me and it really scares me to be a potential scam so I stick with what I know will work.

Physiological needs: I wouldn’t be anywhere or doing anything with the internet. I use it when I’m bored, when Im feeling productive or inspired. Its really a way for me to get through my day.

Journal #5 Seven Ranked Motives to Commit cyber crimes that just make sense

1. Multiple reasons– Computer are our everyday life so we learn more and more about computer networks, which can have a person become curious of what else they can do with their newly found skills. I mean I would. As stated in the article the “professions” aren’t really professionals anymore if I could easily hack into their system. Money is also a great factor in the many reasons so comment cyber crimes.

2. Revenge- Revenge porn is one of the most vile and disgusting things you can do to a person and because it isn’t technically against the law, there really isn’t anything to be done about it. So getting revenge on those that the law cant effect but you can do something about it, honestly I’d do it.

3. For Money – Money. Money. Money, anything for the right price, people would do anything. Specifically Cyber crimes can earn up to two million dollars with a low of forty two thousand dollars. Tax free might I add.

4. Political– In the news we see things about cyber crimes all the time. Mostly were victim to foreign countries like Russia or China. Political cyber crimes happen frequently than we thought. Through social media posts, throwing off campaigns by hacking. Very il yet affective way to turn elections around.

4. Entertainment- Based on the Article, the anonymous person that scraped the profiles, he claims that it was just for fun, which I can understand but there was also money involved so maybe he was entertained by the money he was receiving or the mass hysteria from the people he was stealing from.

6. Boredom– Boredom and entrainment go hand and hand however I wouldn’t comment crimes because I’m bored let alone cyber crimes, which are now easier to track nowadays.

7. Recognition– If Im doing a crime why would I want to be recognized. Based off the article, Maybe its for the title or the public knowing that you can hack a tough systems

Journal #6 Can I spot a fake website?

The number one thing I fear when browsing the internet is scams and the scary thing about scams is they aren’t as easy to identify if you don’t pay close attention. Scams can come in many forms for example phone calls, emails, text messages, and surprisingly even websites. Going to more extreme lengths, hackers will make a look like of dependable websites like Amazon or online banking sites. A simple way I check for scam websites is by looking up if it’s a scam website, asking for proof of its legitimacy, or I check reviews. Another way to check is by checking the address bar and URL. Noticing any misspellings or paying attention to a .com or a .net, can guarantee your safe from scam websites.

Journal #7 Human-Centered Cybersecurity Memes

Included pictured so I provided the link : https://sites.wp.odu.edu/cybershekhinah/2024/02/23/journal-7-human-centered-cybersecurity-memes/

Journal #8 How media influences our understanding about cybersecurity

Media influences us to think that hacking and programing is fun, easy, and a fast process. However, computer work in general is extremely difficult and complex. Media specifically the film industry does not aim for realism in there movies or shows, they focus on terminology that is related to the scene and setting. We can rely on some shows and movies with some truth and reality of hacking. For example in the video “Hacker Rates 12 Hacking Scenes In Movies And TV | How Real Is It?” by insider; The hacker examining the film,” Ocean 8″, revels that the method of hacking called spear phishing used in the film is an accurate representation of what is used in reality. In conclusion we can trust a certain amount of cybersecurity representation in film, however we must not to give in to the stereotypes.

Journal 9 How media influences our understanding about cybersecurity

Journal 10 Social Cybersecurity Journal Review

Social Cybersecurity is an interdisciplinary social science field that is used to change human behavior or persuade society’s minds through means of cyber propaganda utilized in fields like politics. Using media in this fashion is a strategy to show off their diplomatic power, economic gains, and military. Politicians use information science to put “wedges” between nations breaking the bonds they once had and destroying allies or taking power of a nation. A popular example of Social Cybersecurity is Russian Information operations (Soviet Propaganda machine). According to the Journal article “Social Cybersecurity: An Emerging National Security Requirement”, These massive Russian propaganda campaigns are a strategic ploy to extend the power and protection of Russia.

Journal 11 Cybersecurity Analyst vs Social Behaviors

A cybersecurity Analyst is an entry-level position that is very important in tech. They are the first line of defense when attacks occur. This job requires a lot of communication, leadership, and patience as they monitor networks, find vulnerabilities in a system, and are basically technology customer service as well. This position allows you to venture and explore the world which means adaptability is important. This position, like any other cybersecurity position, recommends experience/certifications and heavy networking skills. This career is unknown and highly in demand which makes this career so worth a lot if you’re looking for a career to build off of to further expand your cyber journey.

Journal 12 Letter Review

First of all as a chronic skeptical online shopper, This could possible be the scariest email someone could get. I degrese Two economic theory that relate to the Data Breach letter are…

Keynesian economic theory- Keynesian theory is the call for government investments. This relates to the data breach letter because the company hired leading cybersecurity firms to remove the malware in the website and they got in contact with federal law enforcement. Though I’m sure this is all coming out of the companies pocket however the government is investing their resources to the company.

Rational choice theory- Rational choice theory is when individuals or businesses make decisions that are in their best interest. Based on the letter, it was in their best interest to email their customers about the data breach, informing them that they are taking all the necessary precautions to fix the problem, and giving them advice on what the customer should do next. Even though the company was hacked, they still built trust with their customers because they decided to igknolwegde the issue instead of having customers figure it out on their own.

Now the two social science theories

Neutralization theory- Neutralization theory suggests that an individual knows right from wrong. From the criminals point of view, I think they know they’re doing and doing it intentionally.

Personality theories- The five personality traits are Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and conscientiousness. This theory explores how individuals personal psychological traits contribute to behavior. The criminals relate to why they committed that specific crime.

Journal 13 “Article Review”

It’s a common concern between companies about receiving cybersecurity vulnerability reports from third-party researchers and these major cybersecurity attacks resulted in financial losses. So to ease their skepticism, raise profits, and ensure that all cyber vulnerabilities are well monitored and taken care of companies use Bug Bounties. According to the article”Hacking for Good: Leveraging HackerOne Data to Develop an Economic Model of Bug Bounties” Bug Bounty programs are defined as freelance ethnic hackers tasked to find bugs in corporate IT systems and report back to the companies about their findings and solutions. And in return, companies reward hackers with sums of money.
Benefits: This program seems like wasting more money than sticking to traditional preventions however bug bounties benefit the industry by ultimately making use of hackers and solving a huge technological problem.

Journal 14 “Article Review 2”

The article “11 Illegal Things You Unknowingly Do on the Internet” describes ( just as the title says) illegal things that we unknowingly commit commonly online. In my opinion, five of the most serious offenses are first Bullying and trolling- With the popularity of social media cyberbullying and cyber-trolling have become more popular, and as a result platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have policies to stop repetitive cyberbullying and will take actions by restricting or banning the user. The second one is using Torrent services. Using pirated websites to view movies and TV shows for free. Not only is it unsafe for your device with the amount of viruses, it’s not fair to the creators who worked on the film/show, and it’s illegal to view/use copyrighted products. Number three is sharing passwords, Addresses, or photos of others – Sharing this information without the person’s consent or knowledge is illegal. Taking pictures of someone on their private property is illegal, however in public, the paparazzi, for example, is completely legal. Fourth is extracting audio from YouTube, the most surprising of the group but understandable one of the group is using and downloading copyrighted content without proper payment, credit, or consent is illegal. And the final one is collecting information about children. This violates the”Children Online Protect Act” and without the consent of the parents is 100% illegal and just creepy in general. There should be no good cause for someone to collect information on a child unless you are law enforcement.

Journal 15 Video Review

Digital forensics is the collection, analysis, and reporting of electronically data to be preserved and presented in court. Digital Forensics is relevant to social science because it affects and benefits society, people, and companies. We prioritize digital investigations because, for companies specifically, when problems accrue it can help identify specific problems and exactly who was responsible. The speaker’s pathway from an IT professional to a Digital forensics investigator was innovative. I long for a career in digital forensics and to know that he fell into it through IT work shows me where I should start. Technology is a forever-growing and demanding field so there is always room for cybersecurity professionals.