Cybersecurity as a Social Science 

Students in CYSE 201S 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 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.

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe how cyber technology creates opportunities for criminal behavior,
2. Identify how cultural beliefs interact with technology to impact cybersecurity strategies,
3. Understand and describe how the components, mechanisms, and functions of cyber systems produce security concerns,
4. Discuss the impact that cyber technology has on individuals’ experiences with crime and victimization,
5. Understand and describe ethical dilemmas, both intended and unintended, that cybersecurity efforts, produce for individuals, nations, societies, and the environment,
6. Describe the costs and benefits of producing secure cyber technologies,
7. Understand and describe the global nature of cybersecurity and the way that cybersecurity efforts have produced and inhibited global changes,
8. Describe the role of cybersecurity in defining definitions of appropriate an inappropriate behavior,
9. Describe how cybersecurity produces ideas of progress and modernism.