How do engineers make cyber networks safer?
Cyber engineers incorporate electrical engineering and computer science to understand cyberspace. They use skills developed in digital forensics, security policy, and network defense to perform cybersecurity tasks, as well as work on engineering hardware and software. Cyber engineering is closely linked to preventing and/or resolving cybersecurity issues. Dean Napper points out, “Cyber engineering has been overlooked, or underdeveloped, in addressing cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities among industrial control systems and other Internet of Things networks and devices. Cybersecurity has a software/data/information component and may have, but most likely does not have, a hardware/device component. Cyber engineers apply probability, statistics, and cryptographic topics, specialized math, and engineering topics. They analyze and design complex devices which are likely to have hardware, software and human components.” Cybrary reports that day-to-day tasks and activities will vary for cybersecurity engineers, depending on where they work and the types of systems and networks they are responsible for protecting. But some typical daily tasks cyber engineers do to make cyber networks safer include: responding to any system breach or virus, ensuring appropriate security controls are in place to protect digital files and infrastructure, upgrading security measures for the protection of networks and data, various administrative tasks, performing penetration testing, and identifying system and network vulnerabilities. All engineering approaches to achieving security must be accompanied by methods of monitoring and quickly detecting any security compromises. And then once problems are detected, technologies for taking countermeasures and for repair and recovery must be in place as well. Among other things, that means considering the psychology of computer users — if security systems are burdensome, people may avoid using them, preferring convenience and functionality to security. More research is needed on how people interact with their computers, with the Internet, and with the information culture in general. Cultural and social influences can affect how people use computers and electronic information in ways that increase the risk of cybersecurity breaches.
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