Behavioral Cybersecurity: Applications of Personality Psychology and Computer Science

Since the introduction and proliferation of the Internet, problems involved with maintaining cybersecurity has grown exponentially, and have evolved into many forms of exploitation.

Yet, Cybersecurity has had far too little study and research. Virtually all of the Research that has taken place in cybersecurity over many years, has been done by those with computer science, electrical engineering, and mathematics backgrounds.

However, many cybersecurity researchers have come to realize that to gain a full understanding of how to protect a cyber environment requires not only the knowledge of those researchers in computer science, engineering and mathematics, but those who have a deeper understanding of human behavior: researchers with expertise in the various branches of behavioral science, such as psychology, behavioral economics, and other aspects of brain science.

The authors, one a computer scientist and the other a psychologist, have attempted over the past several years to understand the contributions that each approach to cybersecurity problems can benefit from this integrated approach that we have tended to call "behavioral cybersecurity."

The authors believe that the research and curriculum approaches developed from this integrated approach provide a first book with this approach to cybersecurity. This book incorporates traditional technical computational and analytic approaches to cybersecurity, and also psychological and human factors approaches, as well.

Features

Discusses profiling approaches and risk management

Includes case studies of major cybersecurity events and "Fake News"

Presents analyses of password attacks and defenses

Addresses game theory, behavioral economics and their application to cybersecurity

Supplies research into attacker/defender personality and motivation traits

Techniques for measuring cyber attacks/defenses using crypto and stego