Introduction
In a field that is always expanding and changing in cybersecurity, professionals are hired by organizations to protect their digital assets and networks from all different kinds of online threats. In cybersecurity, one may think that the technical skills are the most important to know, but the real most important skill in cybersecurity is the ability to understand human behavior and their social dynamics as it is vital for any good cyber defense. This career paper will explain how social sciences relate to being a cybersecurity analysist, and also the principles that come along with that job title.
Social Science in Cybersecurity Analysist
In order for a cybersecurity analysis to do their job to the best abilities, they need to have a top tier understanding of the social sciences. “Social cybersecurity is an emerging scientic area focused on the science to characterize, understand, and forecast cyber-mediated changed in humans behavior” (M.Carley, 1). Understanding human behaviors, motivations, and the decision-making processes are all crucial for designing a good cybersecurity defense and protocols. Social Sciences provide valuable information about these because as long as we have a good understanding, professionals are able to anticipate attacks based on where, who, and how they’ll be done before they happen. This allows us to create a much better defense without having to wait and see what will happen and then fixing it.
Social sciences are closely related to psychology, because cybersecurity analysts must study how individuals in society react to and perceive cyber threats. As an example, it has been scientifically proven that within society, more people then not would rather choose convenience over security, doing things such as choosing weak passwords or clicking on links that may not be real but they don’t want to take the time to check or wait. Cybersecurity professionals must use this information and use it to create user friendly websites while also being secure, and they must also do a good job at educating people about the reality of cyber threats in an easy and understandable way.
Social Sciences in Marginalized Groups
Another way social sciences are involved in an analyst’s job is that they must know how cybersecurity affects marginalized communities. Things such as being in poverty can greatly influence how a society reacts towards cybersecurity, because if people are already in poverty, they won’t care about it as they have other more important things to worry about. This means that professionals must be able to “understand which individuals, groups, and communities are at risk of being manipulated through social media and how that risk can be mitigated” (National Academics, 5). Cybersecurity analysists must find a way to cater to these communities even if they don’t want it.
In order for professionals to best help and understand the unique challenges that the groups go through and to develop an inclusive security measure that best addresses their priorities, cybersecurity analysts must adopt a human-centric approach. By doing so, they can design and implement accessible tools and services that give individuals from all backgrounds the ability to protect themselves online. The reason professionals should go for a human-centric approach is because “continuous user education and awareness, systems and protocols tailored to user experience, and feedback through open reporting – all reduce the chances of human error leading to data breaches.” (Cloud Range 1).
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is a large need for the understanding of social sciences within the cybersecurity analysts’ career, is their work caters much towards observing and doing things for the people. By understanding human behavior, addressing marginalized groups, and considering societal impacts, professionals such as analysts can improve the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their work. Moving forward, an approach that doesn’t just include the technical side of cyber security, but also insights from the social sciences side, will be essential for building better defenses that can tackle emerging cyber threats, creating a safer digital world for everyone living in it.
References
Lara, M. (2024, January 25). The value of human-centric cybersecurity – cloud range: Cyber range. Cloud Range | Cyber Range. https://www.cloudrangecyber.com/news/the-value-ofhuman-centriccybersecurity#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20human%20error,error%20leading% 20to%20data%20breaches.
National Academies Press. The National Academies Press. (n.d.).
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/
Social cyber-security – casos. (n.d.).
http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/projects/projects/social_cyber_security/Carley et al Social Cyber Security.pdf
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