Michael Robert Neuwirth – March 24th 2024
Article Review #2 – A review of Cyberattacks, Cyber Threats, and attitudes towards
cybersecurity policies from the Journal of Cybersecurity
Principles of Social Sciences:
The principle of social science that this article most closely follows is psychology. This article
primarily deals with how cyber attacks influence the general public’s psychological thoughts
about cybersecurity, specifically cybersecurity policy.
Research Question or Hypothesis:
The general descriptor for this study’s research question is: “Does exposure to cyberattacks
influence public support for intrusive cybersecurity policies?” (Journal of Cybersecurity) The
main argument they make is that public exposure to cyber attacks causes more widespread
support for cyber policies, even potentially invasive ones.
Types of Research Methods used:
The authors of this study primarily used a randomized controlled survey as their research
method. They polled many different citizens and showed them different cyber attacks to gauge
their reactions to it and whether or not it fit their hypothesis of support for cyber policies.
Types of Data and Analysis:
Since the primary research method for this study was a randomized controlled survey, the data
points are a large amount of data from all the participants’ responses. In total, a little over one
thousand citizens participated in the survey. They were split into three different groups, a control
group, a group exposed to lethal cyberattacks, and finally a group that was exposed to non lethal
cyber attacks.
How Powerpoint Relates to Article:
One of the topics discussed in the powerpoint that could relate to the study is the topic of fake
news in the cybersecurity world. While this article does not deal directly with fake news it does
have interesting implications for how fake news could influence cyber policy. For instance fake
news surrounding how outside state threat actors might try to harm our country could influence
what cyber policy people do or don’t support.
Challenges, Concerns, and Contributions to Marginalized Groups:
In all honesty I don’t see much in a way of how this article contributes to discussion around
Marginalized Groups.
Overall Contributions to Society:

This article paints an interesting problem for society. Cyberattacks seem to correlate with an
increase in support for cyber policy, but supporting cyber policy could decrease cyber attacks
resulting in less support. It seems to be a difficult balancing act for society moving forward.
Conclusion:
This Article from the journal of Cybersecurity demonstrates how the wider public viewing cyber
attacks can influence their support for cyber policy, they showed this through surveys given out
to specific groups. This paints an interesting problem for the future of how we approach
advertising cyber policy.
1.
Snider KLG, Shandler R, Zandani S, Canetti D. Cyberattacks, cyber threats, and
attitudes toward cybersecurity policies. Journal of Cybersecurity. 2021;7(1).
doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/cybsec/tyab019