Journal Entries:

Explain how the principles of science relate to cybersecurity.

I believe the principles of science play such a vital role in cybersecurity for a multitude of reasons. I believe that it allows us to see the reasoning behind computer hacking from the hacker itself. Once we get that reasoning, it may be easier to pinpoint the interior motives behind majority hackers these days, whether that be money or etc. I believe that Parsimony, Empiricism, Ethical Neutality, Determinism, are those principles of science that help us gain a better understanding of computer hacking, which allows us to expand our knowledge in the cybersecurity field. At the end of the day, science and psychology play such a pivotal role in cybersecurity.

Visit PrivacyRights.org to see the types of publicly available information about data breaches. How might researchers use this information to study breaches? Enter a paragraph in your journal.

Judging from the site, there is so much statistical data that informs you about the breaches
that happens all over the country. The thing about this data is that it is so detailed and layered to
the point where they have a map of the country and they break down the number of breaches by
the location/state. I find that beyond fascinating because based off of the statistics there were
around 20,000 breaches in the U.S. alone, but there were a billion impacted records, which is
completely mind blowing. This site breaks down the breaches to the exact state and this could
allow researchers to study why certain states get attacked more than others.

Review Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and explain how each level relates to your experiences with technology. Give specific examples of how your digital experiences relate to each level of need.

Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs is a psychological theory that is based off of five basic
levels that form a pyramid. All of the levels represent something different that caters to a
human’s needs. These levels are Psychological needs, Safety Needs, Belonging and Love Needs,
Esteem Needs, Self-Actualization Needs. Each need caters to something different. In terms of
how these levels cater to our experiences with technology, there are many different factors on
how they influence our experiences. Self-Actualization relates to our experience by stuff like
content creation and other different forms of self-expression like blogs or creative software.
Esteem Needs relates to our experiences by apps that could enhance our skill or even online
education and professional networking sites. Belongingness and Love Needs relate to our
experiences by social media and other messaging platforms that helps us keep our relationships
online. Safety needs relate to our experiences by stuff like home security systems and antivirus
software. Basically anything that ensures our technology’s safety. Physiological Needs relate to
our experiences with technology by stuff like online food delivery, temperature apps, and
anything to helps regulate our physical needs through technology.

Review the articles linked with each individual motive in the presentation page or Slide #4.  Rank the motives from 1 to 7 as the motives that you think make the most sense (being 1) to the least sense (being 7).  Explain why you rank each motive the way you rank it.

How I would rank these motives in terms of making the most sense would be:
1. For money
In my opinion, I feel like this is the most obvious and straight forward one. Most hackers today
have one common goal and that is money. Most of the biggest cyber crimes in history have
happened against big corporations and always resulted in the hackers asking for a large sum of
money in return.
2. Political
I believe this one is a bit straight forward too. Pushing the article aside for a moment, Most
hackers today have political reason behind their motives, whether they want to expose a high
political being or potentially rig an election.
3. Recognition
After reading the article, I seemed a bit split for a moment, but I gained some clarity after
rereading it. His motive kind of had some political reasoning behind it and that is why I ranked it
so high at 3 in terms of making sense.
4. Revenge
This article was a bit sad to read, especially after hearing the youngest victim’s age. I hate to say
it, but revenge is an common motive when it comes to cybercrimes and it may even be done
during some clouded judgement and then one may realize the damage they’ve cause when it it
too late.

Can you spot three fake websites and compare the three fake websites to three real websites, plus showcase what makes the fake websites fake?

Three fake websites
1. The Beaverton https://www.thebeaverton.com/news/world/
2. The Onion https://www.theonion.com/
3. Tree Octopus https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
Three real websites
1. NBC news https://www.nbcnews.com/
2. AP News https://apnews.com/
3. TIME https://time.com/
One thing when comparing these websites is that you can clearly spot the fake ones from
the real ones. Putting the big names aside, even if I didn’t know the names of the three real
websites I chose, I believe I would’ve still been able to point them out from the fake ones. There
is a clear difference in terms of how the real websites are constructed compared to how the fake
ones are constructed. Also, in terms of the content, the difference is clear as day as well. Some of
the fake ones I chose is actually pushing a bit of fake content out and certain types of agendas.
Another way to spot out fake websites is usually your device will tell you if the website is
sketchy or suspicious or not.

Review the following ten photos through a human-centered cybersecurity framework. Create a meme for your favorite three, explaining what is going on in the individual or individual’s mind(s).

After watching the video, write a journal entry about how you think the media influences our understanding about cybersecurity

I believe that the media tends to over exaggerate the view of cybersecurity and hackers in
film/tv for the sake of their product. This tends to alter our view and understanding of the topic at
hand. The world may think that cybersecurity and hacking may be a bit more simpler than it
seems, when it reality, it is the complete opposite. I also think film/tv try to make it look way
more cooler and futuristic than it really is, just like the scene in Skyfall. I remember when the
show ‘Money Heist’ first came out and this was before i got into the cybersecurity field and
really understood it like I do now, but I was so infatuated and terrified at the same time by how
simple hacking looked in the show.

Complete the Social Media Disorder scaleLinks to an external site..  How did you score?  What do you think about the items in the scale?  Why do you think that different patterns are found across the world?

I scored a 4/9 yes’s. I don’t think that was that bad of a score, but I still think I have a
social media addiction. I believed the items in the scale were great measures to see how attached
to social media you are. I think that different patterns are found across the world because of
availability and the difference in cultures. Some countries don’t have the luxury to be on social
media at all or not as much, while some countries don’t have a limit. Also, a difference in
cultures plays a major factor too as some believe and don’t allow technology to overrule their
life.

Read this and write a journal entry summarizing your response to the article on social cybersecurity

I believe this article highlights and glosses over one of the critical aspects of the modern
day national security. One of its main statements claiming that social cybersecurity, which is
considered an emerging subdomain of national security that will most likely affect how future
warfare will come into play, is absolutely crucial in understanding political landscapes, societal
outcomes, and last but not least, cyber-meditated changes in human behavior. I agree with that
for the most part because I believe social cybersecurity is a term that people really don’t know of
or don’t even know it exists. Most people today believe that cybersecurity is a one way street that
only tackles the protection of technology, when in reality, there is another subdomain out there
that tackles other aspects. Social cybersecurity, in my opinion, is just as important because like I
said before, this can easily start wars all due to misinformation being spread and manipulation
tactics being performed.

think about how the description of the cybersecurity analyst job relates to social behaviors.  Write a paragraph describing social themes that arise in the presentation.

I believe there a few social themes that are glossed over in the video that correlate to the
cybersecurity analyst job title. Firstly, is the continued learning. The continued learning aspect of
this field is very important because since this is somewhat of a new field compared to other
fields out there, there are stuff that professionals and everyone else is still learning about
cybersecurity. Also, the technology is an evergrowing field, one should be prepared for the
continued learning throughout their career. Another social theme is the technical and social skill.
I think one should not solely focus on the technical aspects of working in cybersecurity because I
believe it is way more than that. They should focus on the social aspect as well, so they can fully
grasp working in a team like setting with their coworkers and peers.

Read this https://dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/Glasswasherparts.com_.pdfLinks to an external site. sample breach letter “SAMPLE DATA BREACH NOTIFICATION” and describe how two different economics theories and two different social sciences theories relate to the letter.

In terms of this letter, looking from the perspective of the classical economic theory, the
data breach in question would most likely be seen as a disruption to the standard workings of the
market mechanisms. With that being said, in this context, the classical econimists would
probably focus on the impact of the breach on consumer confidence, any possible changes in
consumer behavior when it comes to online purchases, and the costs involved in mitigating such
risks. Looking at it from the perspective of the Marxian economic theory, most marxian
economists would probably see this data breach through the perspective of capitalist relations of
production. Also, they might even go on to emphasize how the incident in question, exposes
power dynamics between different actors in that capitalist system, such as the organization and
its consumers.
Looking at this letter from the sociological theory, the data breach raises a cause for
concern and questions about social trust, the staples of our privacy, and the role technology plays
in shaping our social interactions. Sociologists might examine how individuals and society at
large respond to breaches of any magnitude and etc. Looking at it from the criminilogicical
theory, criminologists would examine this problem from the perspective of the principles of
cybercrime by questioning why would one take part in such an act and the motivations and
motives behind it. They might even go on to investigate what type of techniques the intruders
might’ve used and the weaknesses in the system that allowed the breach to take place.

Watch this video and think about how the career of digital forensics investigators relate to the social sciences. Write a journal entry describing what you think about the speaker’s pathway to his career.

I believe it’s kind of crazy and cool how he kind of just fell into the field without taking
any courses really and he kind of just stumbled upon it once he realized his job was hiring for an
IT person and he just so happened to tinker around a bit with computers a bit. I think in this field,
it’s very common for people to get a gig without going to school or courses. I believe that is
because you can do a lot of outside research on your own and learn a lot about the context of the
field you’re interested in through books and videos nowadays.

Career Paper

What I chose to do my career paper on was the job title of Application Security Administrator. Being an Application Security Administrator in cybersecurity does depend on the research and principles of social science quite a bit in several ways. Some of those principles that they depend on are taking into account ethical considerations. Social science research also contributes to understanding user behavior and policy development as well.

Professionals taking into account and understanding user’s behavior is essential for this specific job title in this career field for a plethora of reasons. Social science research dives into humans’ behavior, which is absolutely crucial in terms of garnering an understanding of how users interact with applications and systems. Security administrators need to anticipate human’s actions and the potential vulnerabilities that stem from human error or malicious intent. “ By understanding and analyzing the typical and atypical behaviors of users, we significantly boost our chances to identify potential threats before they escalate.” (Living Security Team 2023). 

The social science principles tend to inform discussions around ethics and privacy, which is the bread and butter when it comes to cybersecurity practices.”Cybersecurity ethics grows in urgency as the digital landscape continues to transform society.” (Augusta) Security administrators today must find ways to consider the ethical implications of their actions. For example, this could include monitoring, data collections, and even concerning marginalized groups, who could be extremely affected by discriminatory practices and/or privacy violations. 

You may ask, how does social science research contribute to policy development? Well it provides a few contributions in that case. Social science research adds to the development of policies and regulations governing cybersecurity practices. Security administrators must find a way to stay informed about the legal and regulatory frameworks that may impact or affect their work, including those who may be targeted at protecting the rights of marginalized groups in the cyber world. 

“Digital scams and fraud incidents disproportionately impact those least equipped to recover—including natural disaster victims, people with disabilities, older adults, young adults, military veterans, immigrant communities, and lower-income families.” (Wired 2024). How does the job title of application security administration relate to marginalized groups and society in general? Well, there are a few relations that could be taken into account like advocacy and representation, which I touched on just a little bit earlier, digital inclusion, equitable access, and that’s just to name a few. This job title safeguards applications against all types of cyber threats, all while security administrators contribute to promoting digital inclusion. Marginalized groups may have problems and already face a few barriers when it comes to accessing technology, and security vulnerabilities can only strengthen these barriers by undermining the trust that is instilled in digital platforms. That is where security administrators come into play. Security administrators also play a pivotal role in advocating for the needs and concerns of the marginalized groups within the cyber community. Advocating for certain policies that could benefit and help protect these marginalized group’s rights in the digital sphere is essential when it comes to being a security administrator. 

In conclusion, the job title of application security administration is more than just simply being technical. It requires a deep understanding of the principles and research of social science and the consideration of marginalized groups and how we can protect their rights from being violated within the digital sphere. This may require stuff that may not be asked of you when it comes to the technical side of things. One may have to advocate and speak up when it comes to marginalized groups and the society as a whole.

Article Review

I.

Introduction
I will be conducting my article review on ‘Understanding the Use of Artificial
Intelligence in Cybercrime’ written by Katalin Parti, Thomas Dearden, and Sinyong Choi. This
journal really caught my eye simply because of the main subject matter of it being about Artifical
Intelligence. The use of AI in cybercrimes has seemingly started to grow larger as AI become
more of a name in our society today. I believe this journal does an amazing job in stating why
and how that is.
Their methods
I believe this topic relates to the principles of social sciences in many ways. One of those
ways being the interaction between human and computers. The interaction between the two have
become closer than ever as AI has come into the fold and already made a grave impact on our
society and culture today. The study’s research questions and hypotheses do a great job in asking
why that is. Their questions and hypotheses surround AI generated deepfakes. Why would one
go out of their own way to create these deepfakes? In their journal, they note a paper titled
‘Victimization by Deepfake in the Metaverse: Building a Practical Management Framework’
(Stavola & Choi, 2023), which researched personal cybervictimization in the metaverse. They
would also go on to conduct an eight semi-structured interviews with all types of experts in
South Korea, this would allow them to identify the themes in the testimonies on the topics of

deepfake crimes. They also used other types of theories like the Routine activities their and the
Eysenck’s theory of criminality to explain specific offender characteristics and such. They
suggest most offenders would be in their 20s and go on to commit crimes in the metaverse. The
motivation for these cybercrimes would be financial gain and sexual gratification. Concepts from
the article relate back to our learnings by the unethical behavior that is being shown in the
evolution of cybercrimes. I believe this topic relates to the challenges, concerns and
contributions of marginalized groups by simply taking from them or putting them in an uneasy
position. What I mean by that is, it is already hard enough to be categorized in that way, but just
to think someone can go out of their way and create a potentially deepfake image of you and ruin
your image even more is horrifying to think about.
Contributions
I believe this journal has contributions our societies by just simply spreading the
awareness of the potential dangers of AI’s part in cybercrime and not only how dangerous it
could be, but how far it could go as well.
Conclusion
I believe this journal does a wonderful job in pointing out the use of Artificial
Intelligence in Cybercrime and how far the dangers can really expand. The act of deepfakes
already being spread around for sexual gratification and financial gain is already happening, but
that is only scraping the surface on the how far AI can take part in Cybercrime.

II.

Why the Attitude Towards Cybersecurity Policy?
Introduction
I chose to do my review on an article named ‘Cyberattacks, cyber threats, and attitudes
towards cybersecurity policy’. I chose this article for a multitude of reasons, but one of those
main reasons being how closely it relates to the principles of the social sciences. One might ask
“how does this topic relate to the principle of the social science?”, well the answer is quite
simple and I’ll explain it for you down below.
The Relation
What I found intriguing about this article was how it involves the main principle of social
sciences by delving deeper into the interaction between the perceptions, policy-making
processes, and lastly, the societal behavior. It also delves deeper into how the public’s exposure
to cyber threats has increasingly influenced the public’s demand for some form of government
enforcing. This article not only closely relates to the main principles of social sciences, but it also
taps into the sociology of collective behavior and political science’s study of policy formations.
Their Methods
The article stated a good number of hypotheses that tended to focus on the public’s grasp
towards cyberattacks. For example, one of the hypotheses suggested that exposure towards lethal
or nonlethal cyberattacks increases the supports for policies to be made for cybersecurity, rather
than no exposure. Another hypothesis that was made in the article suggested that a perceived
cyberthreat conciliates the relationship between exposure of a cyberattack and the support for cybersecurity policies. I believe both of these hypotheses open up doors for certain discussions to
be had on the demand of cybersecurity policies. Another thing I found intriguing about this
article was that they conducted a study that employed a controlled randomized survey
experiment as one of their research methods. In this experiment, they exposed their participants
to simulated news reports of both, lethal and nonlethal cyberattacks, so they could measure the
effects on policy support. I found that to be an interesting way to conduct that experiment in that
fashion. I believe in this fashion, it would allow for a more managed observation of changes in
the participant’s attitudes, this would then provide a rather strong framework when it comes to
the hypotheses in question being tested. The data they collected was from surveys from the
Israeli participants they used.
Contributions
I believe this article has made contributions towards our society by highlighting the
discourse on cybersecurity policies and how important not only can they be, but how much
they’re needed in our society today.
Conclusion
In conclusion, like I said above, this article does a great job in not only highlighting the
discourse surrounding cybersecurity policies, but it also does an amazing job tackling it from a
scientific method with the experiments and data they conducted for the article. The topic relates
so much to the principles of the social sciences for various reasons and it also relates a lot
towards our power point presentations.