{"id":316,"date":"2026-02-09T22:08:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T22:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/?page_id=316"},"modified":"2026-05-02T01:53:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T01:53:21","slug":"career-paper","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/career-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cybersecurity Professional Career Paper: “The Role of a Cybersecurity Analyst<\/strong>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Cybersecurity is a broad field of study with a lot of interconnecting principles and how it connects to social science. It is not just the technological principles with a bunch of numbers and codes, but it also highlights human factors. A cybersecurity analyst performs many roles in the cybersecurity field, ranging from protecting your home internet from suspicious activity by installing protection from malware and from attacks, or protecting an organization\u2019s computer system\u2019s digital assets. This is crucial because in the modern world, everything is digital. This paper will explore and highlight the role of a cybersecurity analyst and how important it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Science Principles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social science plays an important role in cybersecurity because it involves cybercriminals and their behavior. An analyst must be able to fully understand what goes through the mind of an attacker in hopes to apply protective measures. Cyber analysts actively study human behavior and look for suspicious activity such as urgency, whether it is legitimate activity from the user, and certain behavior on devices. They also base their studies and key findings on the seven core principles of cybersecurity. Professionals use various methods of social science insights to develop strategies for cybersecurity awareness and education. Some methods that are used are collecting data from individuals after a case study. Techniques that act as countermeasures for social engineering can be human-based or computer-based. Computer-based solutions are typically efficient and accurate but have limitations of being expensive, limited by human awareness, and programmed to be very specific (Hobbs, 2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applications of Key Concepts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybersecurity analyst exemplifies the key components of the Dark Triad traits of individuals and also risk management. They ensure clients have the utmost confidentiality when it comes to their personal identification. It is best to teach awareness to individuals so they can take extra measures when it comes to digital hygiene. There are fundamental programs to help aid in this being proactive. Knowledge and behavior about good practices concerning information security awareness are often weak based on systems and policies that are poorly designed. Answering questions correctly does not mean it will motivate a user to behave according to knowledge obtained from the awareness program. To enhance future security awareness campaigns, certain factors can help increase the overall effectiveness and decrease the chance of failure (Hobbs, 2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marginalization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybersecurity Analysts make sure to cover all elements of keeping individual\u2019, companies\u2019, and organization\u2019 personal information protected, and that includes marginalized groups. Marginalized groups are very much affected by cyber attacks, these may include low-income families, women, and people of color.  Some marginalized groups are an easy target to cyberattacks because of their lack of awareness and not having proper access to software, making them vulnerable to threats. These groups or individuals often face challenges with keeping up with the latest software update, and the elderly are more likely to have their credit cards compromised due to their lack of awareness. Building digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness among underrepresented groups is critical for empowering individuals to participate fully in the tech industry (Ubamadu Bright Chibunna et al., 2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Career Connection to Society<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybersecurity professionals contribute to the safety and stability of societal infrastructures by analyzing systems for possible malicious activity and cyber attacks before they occur. The Cybersecurity Analyst career covers a broad spectrum when it comes to safeguarding assets. They are the eyes behind the scenes and the backbones of infrastructure. Analysts are often on the front line defending organizational assets, hardening systems, mitigating and reducing risks and vulnerabilities, and responding to malicious cyberattacks or non-malicious incidents (Ramezan et al., 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

In conclusion, after exploring a career in cybersecurity, an analyst plays a vital role in protecting personal information, incorporating an understanding of human behavior, and social science principles . The world is evolving in technology, so it is essential to mitigate the growing trend of hacking across the globe. Additionally, industries and organizations depend on and trust an analyst\u2019s knowledge and skills to prevent cyberattacks before it happens.  This vital role forms the core of organizational cybersecurity operations, and is crucial towards ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organizational assets (Ramezan et al., 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scholarly Journal Articles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source 1: mlaverdi. (2025, August 6). The Role of Cybersecurity Experts in Critical Infrastructure Protection. Marymount University. https:\/\/marymount.edu\/blog\/the-role-of-cybersecurity-experts-in-critical-infrastructure-protection\/#gsc.tab=0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This scholarly source highlights that cybersecurity experts are important in maintaining a system\u2019s digital infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source 2: Carley, K. M. (2020). Social cybersecurity: an emerging science. Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 26(4), 365\u2013381. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10588-020-09322-9<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This scholarly source broadens our understanding that the practice of good digital hygiene is imperative for safety and protection of personal data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source 3: Ubamadu Bright Chibunna, Hamza, O., Collins, A., Onoja, J. P., Adeoluwa Eweja, & Daraojimba, A. I. (2020). Building Digital Literacy and Cybersecurity Awareness to Empower Underrepresented Groups in the Tech Industry. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation, 1(1), 125\u2013138. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.54660\/.ijmrge.2020.1.1.125-138<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This scholarly source enhances the concept of marginalized groups where digital literacy is a key component in everyday life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cybersecurity Professional Career Paper: “The Role of a Cybersecurity Analyst“ Introduction Cybersecurity is a broad field of study with a lot of interconnecting principles and how it connects to social science. It is not just the technological principles with a bunch of numbers and codes, but it also highlights human factors. A cybersecurity analyst performs… <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":31893,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/316"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31893"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":370,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/316\/revisions\/370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/zakiyyahdunston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}