Jay Michael Lowmack
April 13, 2025
The Role of Social Science in the Career of a Cybersecurity Policy Analyst
This paper provides an in-depth look at the role of social science in the career of a Cybersecurity
policy professional by highlighting what is a cybersecurity policy analyst is, how social science
shape the work these analysts do, and by considering what effect do applying ethical and
sociopolitical concepts in these policy affects the development of these policies.
Defining what a Cybersecurity Policy Analyst does in their Career Path
A cybersecurity policy analyst is defined as “a pivotal role in an organization’s defense
against cyber threats. Their primary responsibilities include the development,
implementation, and monitoring of cybersecurity policies and procedures. They also
assess compliance with existing regulations and industry standards, making
recommendations for risk management and improvement.” (UMATechnology, 2025).
The quote above highlights its key roles in policy development, implementation, and
monitoring of evolving technology to ensure policy effectiveness and to evaluate industry
standards. It also identifies potential risks and recommends ways to improve security or
prevent those risks from coming true.
How do Social Sciences Shape the Work of these Cybersecurity Policy
Analysts
Cybersecurity goes beyond just technical defenses because it needs to consider social,
political, and strategic implications for the development of necessary policies. Why? It
can bring critical insights into the role of cyber operations by influencing how policies
need to be shaped or implemented around evolving technological changes.
For example, “Microsoft’s intelligence products, and others like it, provide a critical
public service by helping to shed light on the dynamics of cyber operations in an
environment where the major tech players (like Microsoft) are likely to have exquisite
visibility on often obscured cyber activities. However, they also reveal the limitations of
technical intelligence reporting and the problems of drawing inferences from discrete
cyber activities about core concepts in the security studies field—like deterrence,
warfighting, or the offense-defense balance—absent an approach grounded in social
science.” (Lonergan & Smith, 2022).
As stated in the quote, Microsoft intelligence products help reveal hidden cyber
activities, providing valuable insights into the dynamics of cyber operations. However,
this reliance on technology can be limited by the lack of social sciences, which are the
key to understanding topics like deterrence or warfare.
The Effects of Ethical and Sociopolitical Concepts on the Development
of these Policies
The foundation of ethical and sociopolitical policy development is essential, and to
understand it, you must grasp the concept of critical reflection, which plays an essential
role in recognizing and addressing inequalities.
This is displayed in the following quote “Across the various frameworks, critical
reflection refers to (1) thinking critically about accepted assumptions, beliefs, feelings,
and ideas, (2) uncovering the hidden interests underlying personal, social, and cultural
beliefs or assumptions, (3) being able to identify root causes of inequality and ways that
history continues to impact present-day ways of life” (Malorni et al., 2023).
The quote shows the importance of critical reflection in policy making by encouraging
individuals to think more deeply about assumptions about underlying interests and
identify the root cause of things through their history.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a cybersecurity policy analyst plays a vital role in safeguarding an
organization or company against cyber threats by developing, implementing, and monitoring
cybersecurity policies. With the help of social science, this analyst can use those applications to
offer insight into how they can adapt to stay up to date with the ever-evolving technology. Also,
with the concepts of Ethical and sociopolitical concepts, it can be used to make a critical
reflection on what led to events and how they should make a policy to make sure it doesn’t
happen again, and there are no inequalities.
References
Lonergan, E. D., & Smith, M. (2022, July 21). Want Better Cyber Policy? Talk to Social
Scientists. Modern War Institute -; Modern War Institute.
https://mwi.westpoint.edu/want-better-cyber-policy-talk-to-social-scientists/
Malorni, A., Dolan, S., Hong, A., Joseph, N., Mohamed, K., Moore, L., Phan, L., Skoglund, I.,
Too, I., & Wittman, S. (2023). Youth sociopolitical development: A conceptual
framework by racial and gender minoritized youth organizers. American Journal of
Community Psychology, 73(3-4). https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12729
UMATechnology. (2025, January 21). Cybersecurity Policy And Compliance Analyst – UMA
Technology. UMA Technology. https://umatechnology.org/cybersecurity-policy-and-
compliance-analyst/