Social Psychology: An under-used tool in Cybersecurity

Abstract

In cyber-security the weakest link is often seen as the human factor. This has led to discussions about the optimal methods in preventing cyber security breaches. This paper proposes that the fusion of cybersecurity and social psychology can inform and advance attempts to educate those on both sides of the law. Awareness and education will lead to more effective communication between parties and greater understanding of the risks and consequences for cyber attackers and defenders alike.

Space Cyber Threats and Need for Enhanced Resilience of Space Assets

“…The study of the personality of penetration testers found that penetration testers are more likely to be honest and humble when compared to other computer professionals (Opedal, 2019); therefore, high scores on the honesty-humility facet of personality is likely a key factor for who becomes a criminal hacker and who ends up employed as a penetration tester. Thackray et al (2016) noted that paranoia is common among hackers. The data from the interviews also identified paranoia as a concern among some of the interviewees.…”

“…However, Bruijne, Eeten, Gañán, and Pieters (2017) lament that there is a lack of a commonly agreed upon typology of hackers, but identified from their search of the literature that the following five dimensions exists: a) target, b) expertise, c) resources, d) organization, and e) motivation. Thackray et al (2016) argued that social psychology is an underutilized tool in cyber security, and psychological research into hackers enable increased understanding of motivations driving the hacker (Thackray et al 2016). Thackray et al (2016) notes that white hat hackers tend to be motivated by prestige and that curiosity and thrill seeking are motivators for hackers in general.…”

“…Thackray et al (2016) argued that social psychology is an underutilized tool in cyber security, and psychological research into hackers enable increased understanding of motivations driving the hacker (Thackray et al 2016). Thackray et al (2016) notes that white hat hackers tend to be motivated by prestige and that curiosity and thrill seeking are motivators for hackers in general. TTurgeman (2011) argued that the term hacker is a socially constructed term and that hackers view themselves as positive deviants.…”

“…Furthermore, it is common to distinguish between white hat and black hat hackers, which is determined by the motivation for the hacking activity and if the victim provided prior consent (Hatfield 2019). The motive for researching the psychology of hackers is that psychological research into hackers enable increased understanding of motivations driving the hacker (Thackray et al 2016).…”

Human Factors in the Cybersecurity of Autonomous Vehicles: Trends in Current Research

“…According to Derrick et al (2016) attackers could be thieves, organized criminals, political activists, terrorists, foreign government, or vehicle owners themselves. For example, groups of hacktivists might be motivated to participate in cyberattacks to develop a strong identity and the ethos for their group (Thackray et al, 2016). Developing methods to damage the identity of groups that attack AV might help to maintain security.…”