Cybersecurity Forensics Analyst: Connection between Cyber and Social Science.
Sarah E. Bennett
Old Dominion University
Prof Yalpi. CYSE 201SE
Introduction:
Throughout history, cybersecurity has evolved immensely through the social aspect, such as behavior, psychology, and social dynamics. I am incredibly interested in becoming a cybersecurity analyst. They are cyber professionals who mainly investigate cybercrimes by analyzing, collecting, and most importantly, protecting digital data and evidence. Majority of the time the Cyber professionals work on most of the times technology, law, and most importantly, social science. Cyber Analysts rely on an understanding of the behavioral factors of humans behind cyber occurrences, more specifically when addressing crimes that involve social problems. With that being said, my paper will explore how Cybersecurity Forensic Analysts connect social science research and analytics and apply them to their everyday lives and responsibilities that impact their work through society.
Principles in Cybersecurity Forensics:
Cybersecurity forensics is very involved in the decoding of malware and recovering deleted files, about human and digital behavior. When cyber analysts work, they must be able to understand the motivation behind certain crimes such as online fraud, stalking, identity theft, and, most importantly cyber cyberbullying. Many of these offenses that were mentioned are very personal and simply reflect trending social patterns, which include exploitation and marginalization.
Cybersecurity forensics is very involved in the decoding of malware and recovering deleted files, about human and digital behavior. When cyber analysts work, they must be able to understand the motivation behind certain crimes such as online fraud, stalking, identity theft, and, most importantly cyber cyberbullying. Many of these offenses that were mentioned are very personal and simply reflect trending social patterns, which include exploitation and marginalization.
Additionally, social science truly graphs the concept of the digital sociology society, which goes into depth about how digital environments show and reinforce different normal societal structures. A great example for this would be how gender targeted cyberbullying and harassment affect more women and LGBTQ plus individual individuals and allows analyst to approach their investigations very differently through a sensitive and trauma-informed way.
Applications of Social Science:
Consistently, cybersecurity, forensic analysts usually make use of research regarding social psychology and criminology to best determine individual use of behavior on certain digital platforms. For example, when it comes to patterns of lying and exploitation, and grooming, there is a psychological determination that individuals will manipulate for romance fraud and financial schemes. Cyber security analysts will usually conduct research involving victims to truly get an understanding of how different groups, like racial minorities and low-income individuals to see how they are more vulnerable to cybercrime than others who live in a better environment or are not a part of a targeted racial group.
Investigating cybercrime, such as harassment and bullying often cyber cybersecurity analyst will most likely collaborate with different social workers and psychologists to obtain different evidence to try and help the victim in any way, shape, or form. With that being said, social science methods like using qualitative analysis are usually used to understand and decode online messages and identify relationships between the victim and the accused defendant.
Impact on groups and Society:
The role that cybersecurity for analysts play has a huge impact on social justice for certain marginalized communities People who are victims of cyberbullying, exploitation, and harassment, in particular children, women, and individuals who are black, Hispanic and brown, usually face specific barriers when it comes to receiving support Against cyber bullying. Cybersecurity analysts have a huge role and provide sustaining evidence when it comes to investigations. Additionally, they can help law enforcement when crimes are targeted at cyberbullying, hate speech, bias, or economic discrepancies. On the other hand, Cybersecurity forensics truly puts effort into public trust and the digital forensic world. They hold cyber security, criminals accountable, and truly make the effort to protect individuals who are most vulnerable and create a safer space for online users.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, cybersecurity forensic analysts are cyber professionals who connect technology to humanity. Their professionalism goes beyond and above, and truly exemplifies how cybersecurity careers truly depend solely on social science and research. This helps understand behavioral issues, digital threats, and the justice system. Many cyber threats continue to advance and can be a lot for government officials and cybersecurity professionals to uphold; however, understanding the workings of society and being able to shape them and create a source of protection for the online world. Individuals are the main job for cybersecurity analysts, and they are doing a wonderful job. Every day in this cybersecurity field, it is evolving and getting better. I hope one day to make a huge difference as a cybersecurity forensic analyst, and I cannot wait to start my career after my college experience.
References:
https://academic.oup.com/policing/article/8/3/285/2893192
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/crimjust-criminology-facpubs/77/