Shift Happens: Human Factors Considerations for Handoffs in Cyber-Security Operations Centers

Abstract

Cybersecurity breaches have consequences not only at a technical level, but also at economic, legal, individual levels. Organizations depend heavily on the internet to conduct daily operations and activities. As cyber threats increase with frequency and severity, organizations and the cybersecurity experts they employ are facing an uphill battle. To our knowledge, very little research has been done to investigate the handoff processes that exist in Security Operations Centers (SOCs). Researchers and practitioners within the cybersecurity community would benefit from a better understanding of how handoff mechanisms influence SOC team processes and performance. To help attain this goal, this paper aims to explore handoff processes within other domains and illuminate what aspects of handoffs may be extended to SOCs and in what ways handoffs performed in SOCs may need special consideration.