Cyber Psychology
Human beings have created an entirely new virtual world in which to interact, but just three decades ago only a few people regularly accessed the Internet, but now the majority of the Globe’s population are on-line. And now human error is mainly responsible for most cyber-attacks and so business management cannot ignore the impact of human traits and characteristics on employee cyber security habits.
From the printing press to the rise of film photography, new technology has always played a role in the ways humans think about the world and their position in it.
To help make sense of it all, and to provide effective solutions to unintended severe mental health problems that arise from online technology, researchers have developed a new field: cyber psychology. Rapid technological progress in the last 30 years, though, has intensely altered the way we interact with each other. As a result, the way we think is notably differently as we consume new information, communicate with others, and internalise our feelings.
Cyber psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior and how the culture of technology, specifically, virtual reality, and social media affect them.
Mainstream research studies focus on the effect of the Internet and cyberspace on the psychology of individuals and groups.
has long been thought of as the responsibility of IT, but to build a holistic cyber security strategy that accounts for the human factor, IT, HR and senior management must work together.
Using psychometric testing and self-awareness tools, HR can help to identify the make-up of teams and pinpoint where potential vulnerabilities exist. IT teams can use this insight.
That is the background to a joint white paper from the cyber firm ESET and the personality and ability assessment firm The Myers-Briggs Company “Cyberchology: The Human Element”. It argues for a holistic cyber security strategy that takes individual personalities into account alongside IT systems and software.
The report speaks in terms of IT resilience; confident employees who are educated on cybersecurity best practice as the foundation of a resilient strategy.
Most cyber-attacks are successful not because of the hacker’s skill, but due to human error or oversight. and a significant challenge during COVID-19 has been the increase in cyber security risk, caused by the human factor. The report says: “The ways in which people prefer to digest information and communicate can play a role in how different team members approach cybersecurity, as all personality types have different strengths and blind spots that can impact the outcome of a cybersecurity attack.”
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality model looks at four areas of personality type – Extraversion or Introversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling and Judging or Perceiving.
Concerning the findings of the Cyberchology paper, Jake Moore at ESET said: “Remote working has brought greater flexibility to the workforce, but has also dramatically altered business processes and systems.... The combination of fractured IT systems, a lack of central security, the sudden shift to home working, and a global climate of stress and concern is a perfect breeding ground for a successful cyber attack. The fact that only a quarter of businesses have faith in their own remote working strategy is shocking, and shows there is much work to be done to secure working from home.”
While Cybersecurity is mistakenly considered by many organisations to be the exclusive responsibility of IT departments, a resilient holistic cybersecurity strategy must include HR departments which, through the use of psychometric testing and self-awareness tools, can help to identify the best composition of teams and pinpoint potential vulnerabilities.
This method will help IT teams to create a more comprehensive security cyber strategy to their organisation keep on top of potential threats.
Professional Security: CACM: ESET: King University: The Myers Briggs:
You Might Also Read:
Five Ways HR Can Improve Cyber Security:
