Cybersecurity and the 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.

Course objectives and learning outcomes:

● Compare how basic psychological, sociological, criminological, political, economic,
and legal theories and models explain cybersecurity
● Identify the strengths and weaknesses of those theories in understanding the
connections between human behaviors and cybersecurity
● Define key concepts including cybersecurity, cybercrime, cyber criminology, cyber
law, digital forensics, human factors, cyber policy, cyber risk, cyber threats, and
cyber war.
● Identify how professionals in various cybersecurity careers apply these
multidisciplinary concepts in their daily routines
● Describe how hypotheses and research questions are formed in studies addressing
cybersecurity through a social science lens
● Describe how data are collected, measured, and analyzed in studies addressing
cybersecurity through a social science lens
● Identify how marginalized groups have confronted challenges and concerns related
to cybersecurity as well as how these groups have contributed to our understanding
about the topic.
● Explain how the application of social science theories, principles, and research
strategies have contributed to our understanding of cybersecurity at the societal
level.