Behavioral Cybersecurity: Human Factors in the Cybersecurity Curriculum
As more concentrations in cybersecurity in the computer science undergraduate curriculum are being offered to meet a high demand, these offerings have not reflected a major concern of cybersecurity researchers, namely that there is little emphasis on the
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Abstract As more concentrations in cybersecurity in the computer science undergraduate curriculum are being offered to meet a high demand, these offerings have not reflected a major concern of cybersecurity researchers, namely that there is little emphasis on the behavioral questions involved in the study and analysis of cybersecurity events. To this end, Howard University has introduced an upper division undergraduate course and graduate course to complement its cybersecurity course offerings, called “Behavioral Cybersecurity.” The behavioral approach also includes considerations of human factors. This paper reviews the course development, pedagogical choices made, and outcomes of its initial offering.
Keywords Human factors Human-systems integration Systems engineering Security and privacy Human and societal aspects of security and privacy Human factors Social aspects of security and privacy
1 Introduction For many years in our growing discipline of Computer Science, a widely overlooked area was the field once called “Computer Security” or “Information Security”. The authors’ early courses (going back to the 1980s) would usually only attract a handful of students. Now, given the confluence of external events: the power of the Internet, increasing geopolitical fears of “cyber terrorism” dating from 9/11, a greater understanding of security needs and industry, and economic projections of the W. Patterson (&) C. Winston L. Fleming Howard University, Washington DC 20059, USA e-mail: [email protected] C. Winston e-mail: [email protected] L. Fleming e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 D. Nicholson (ed.), Advances in Human Factors in Cybersecurity, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 501, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41932-9_21
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enormous employment needs in Cybersecurity have caused many universities to develop more substantial curricula in this area, and the National Security Agency has created a process for determining Centers of Excellence in this field [1]. Howard University offers courses in Cybersecurity at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Its programs have been designated as a Center of Academic Excellence through the process with the National Security Agency as described above. The undergraduate enrollments have been increasing to full capacity. However, as with many universities, there is a gap in the Cybersecurity curriculum that we have decided to address. At the 1980 summer meeting of the American Mathematics Society in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a featured speaker was the distinguished mathematician, the late Peter J. Hilton.1 Dr. Hilton was known widely for his research in algebraic topology, but on that occasion he spoke publicly for the first time about his work in cryptanalysis during World War II at Hut 8 in Bletchley Park, the home of the now-famous efforts to break German encryption methods such as the Enigma. The first author was present at that session and has often cited Professor Hil
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