{"id":342,"date":"2026-05-06T02:55:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T02:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/racquelmccray\/?page_id=342"},"modified":"2026-05-06T03:26:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T03:26:29","slug":"case-study","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/racquelmccray\/case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"CASE STUDY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Case Study: Cybersecurity and Social Sciences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, cybersecurity has been forced to evolve with the increasing number of cyber threats enabled by technology. Instead of just protecting systems, cybersecurity experts now have to focus on understanding human behavior. Artificial Intelligence was created as a tool to be used for helpful purposes. However, the FBI received more than 22,000 complaints related to AI scams in 2025 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center [IC3], 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artificial Intelligence is being used daily to commit fraud, scams, and phishing attempts. In 2025, AI resulted in the loss of $893,346,472 throughout the United States (IC3, 2025). As the use of AI grows, criminals are learning how to adapt to it and even better ways to manipulate it. This is causing an increase in the amount and quality of \u201cdeepfakes,\u201d or AI-generated media. This media can be used to make someone believe someone has said or done something that is not true (National Council on Aging [NCOA], 2025). Criminals can even take images from social media and use AI to create proof-of-life images for fake ransom requests (NCOA, 2025). AI is also used by criminals to foster relationships online with people and scam them. This example is one of the most interesting to me because of its social aspects. Cybersecurity analysts would need to understand human psychology and sociology to understand why victimization happens and how it can be prevented. The reasons that the targets fall for these scams need to be understood. What are the victims doing online that make them targets, and why are they constantly falling for these scams?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I<\/strong> believe a solution to this could be to create campaigns to spread awareness about the use of these AI platforms and what people should look for. These campaigns could be used for training within corporations or even ads running on social media to reach as many people as possible. A challenge in implementing this could be the cost, but I feel like after companies analyze the cost\/benefit, it would be beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combining cybersecurity and social sciences is important because cybersecurity isn\u2019t just about protecting systems; the users of those systems need to be protected too. Victims who may have a low self-image would make a target for phishing scams. A person who overshares on the internet could be the target of fraud or identity theft. Understanding why victims do these things can help analysts deter criminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as technology is around, criminals will find a way to evade the techniques of cybersecurity experts. AI was created to be helpful but with all good things, criminals will always find ways to use it for negative things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2025). Internet Crime Report 2025. https:\/\/www.ic3.gov\/AnnualReport\/Reports\/2025_IC3Report.pdf<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Council on Aging. (2025, December 28). What are AI Scams? A guide for older adults. https:\/\/www.ncoa.org\/article\/what-are-ai-scams-a-guide-for-older-adults\/<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Case Study: Cybersecurity and Social Sciences Introduction Over the years, cybersecurity has been forced to evolve with the increasing number of cyber threats enabled by technology. Instead of just protecting systems, cybersecurity experts now have to focus on understanding human behavior. Artificial Intelligence was created as a tool to be used for helpful purposes. However,… <\/p>\n

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