The study of cybersecurity can be enhanced by adhering to the scientific principles of determinism, ethical neutrality, empiricism, parsimony, objectivity, and relativism.

Relativism can help cybersecurity professionals understand how things are related, such as when a change in one system can result in changes occurring in other systems, too.  There are a variety of examples of how technological systems affect social systems.  As a result, it’s important to recognize how technological advances affect human behavior, economic decisions, political systems, and other social processes.  It’s also worth noting that changes in any societal systems will result in changes in cybersecurity.

Objectivity relates to cybersecurity because it helps regulate the way social scientists view certain topics.  Instead of being used as a way to support (or argue against) an opinion, objectivity refers to how various topics and issues can be studied in a value-free manner.

Parsimony is a principle of science that aims to keep explanations rather simple, which is unfortunately difficult to do in social sciences.  Instead, this works better when applied to natural sciences because scientific theorems can easily be cited, and only a few variables are necessary.

Empiricism focuses on studying human behavior which is real to the senses (touch, sight, taste, hearing, and smell).  Therefore, this principle of science has little value in helping people understand cybercrime and cybersecurity.

Ethical neutrality relates to cybersecurity by requiring scientists to adhere to ethical standards as they complete their research.  As it is primarily based on protecting the rights of individuals participating in the research, this principle is great for studying cybercrime, because it creates opportunities to investigate ethical issues.

Lastly, determinism refers to when behaviors are caused by preceding events.  Although this may provide some benefit in the studies of cybersecurity risks and cybercrime activities, it does have a problem similar to that of parsimony.  It’s typically easier to establish in natural sciences instead of social sciences.  This is because many individuals may disagree with the idea of human behavior being influenced by previous events.  Instead, some believe that behavior is a result of the actions chosen by the individual.