Cybersecurity Career Professional: Cybersecurity Analyst
Elizabeth Earl
School of Cybersecurity, Old Dominion University
CYSE 201S: Cybersecurity as a Social Science
Professor Trinity Woodbury
April 27, 2025
Introduction
Cybersecurity analysts play a critical role in protecting organizations from cyber threats. While their role is often associated with strong technical skills, their effectiveness equally depends on understanding human behavior, social structures, and cultural dynamics. Social science principles, including psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics, are essential to their daily work. These insights enable analysts to predict user behavior, design robust security policies, and ensure that cybersecurity measures are both inclusive and fair. This paper explores how cybersecurity analysts rely on social science principles to effectively carry out their tasks, focusing particularly on the impact on marginalized groups and society as a whole.
Role of a Cybersecurity Analyst
Cybersecurity analysts are responsible for safeguarding an organization’s digital infrastructure by detecting and responding to potential security threats. Their day-to-day tasks vary depending on the organization and may include monitoring network traffic, investigating and responding to incidents, fixing vulnerabilities, performing risk assessments and penetration tests (Staff, 2025). Analysts are also responsible for designing procedures to manage risk and ensure compliance with both legal and regulatory requirements. While these technical tasks are important, the ability to predict user behavior and recognize social factors that influence security vulnerabilities is equally essential for a cybersecurity analyst’s success. Social science research is crucial to designing more effective security measures that account for human factors.
Understanding Human Behavior and Cognitive Biases
Cybersecurity analysts face numerous challenges and threats daily, with phishing attacks standing out as one of the most persistent and evolving dangers they must constantly address. These attacks exploit human psychology, particularly cognitive biases and decision-making shortcuts. Human error continues to be a leading cause of security breaches, and analysts rely on social science research to better understand these vulnerabilities. For example, cognitive biases like overconfidence and the availability heuristic influence how users perceive and respond to security risks. Research shows that many cybersecurity breaches result not from technical failures, but from user misjudgments (Hakimi et al., n.d.). Analysts leverage these findings to develop security awareness programs, create phishing simulations, and design user interfaces that promote safer behaviors. Additionally, decision-making theories show that how information is presented, or framed, can significantly affect a person’s decisions and behaviors. By understanding these biases and human behaviors, analysts can design more effective interventions and responses that account for the psychological aspects of security breaches.
Social Dynamics, Organizational Culture, and Marginalized Groups
Social science research highlights the significant role of organizational culture and social dynamics in shaping cybersecurity practices. Inclusivity has become an increasingly important focus. In the article “Accessible and Inclusive Cyber Security: A Nuanced and Complex Challenge” (2022), researchers emphasized the need for cybersecurity systems that address the unique barriers faced by marginalized populations. Organizational culture plays a crucial role in how cybersecurity measures are adopted, with inclusive cultures better able to address the specific needs of marginalized groups.
Application of Social Science in Daily Routines
Cybersecurity analysts integrate social science research into various aspects of their daily routines, particularly in designing training and security policies. Insights into cognitive biases and decision-making processes help analysts create effective phishing detection programs and anticipate possible organizational resistance to security changes. They also focus on the inclusivity of cybersecurity measures to ensure accessibility for people from varying socioeconomic backgrounds.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity analysts are more than technical experts, they also rely on social science research to enhance their effectiveness in addressing human behavior, societal trends, and organizational dynamics. By applying social science principles, analysts can better anticipate threats, promote safer organizational cultures, and create systems that serve all users. Ultimately, the most effective cybersecurity analysts are those who combine technical expertise with a deep understanding of human behavior, ensuring that cybersecurity measures are not only technically sound but also socially informed.
References
Hakimi, M., Quchi, N. M. M., & Fazil, N. a. W. (n.d.). Human Factors in Cybersecurity: An in-depth analysis of user centric studies. Jurnal Ilmiah Multidisiplin Indonesia (JIM-ID), 3(01), 20–33. https://doi.org/10.58471/esaprom.v3i01.3832
Renaud, K., & Coles-Kemp, L. (2022). Accessible and Inclusive Cybersecurity: A Nuanced and Complex Challenge. SN Computer Science, 3(5). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-022-01239-1
Staff, C. (2025, January 15). What does a cybersecurity analyst do? 2025 job Guide. Coursera. https://www.coursera.org/articles/cybersecurity-analyst-job-guide