Human Factors in Cyber Warfare

Abstract

There has been a dramatic increase in the total number of reported cyber security breaches and attacks in recent years. In response, government, and corporate entities have invested billions of dollars in funding research and development efforts for cyber operations, including computer network defense (CND) and computer network attack (CNA). While cyber operations have become an important national priority over the last decade, the Human Factors community has yet to approach it with critical mass. In its purest form, cyber operations are a complex sociotechnical system that can have effects across all levels of an organization. Due to a consistent interplay between human cognition, technology, and organizational constraints within the environment, the Human Factors community is particularly well-suited to address the problem space. We have assembled a panel of six scientists, technologists, and subject matter experts across multiple specializations in the Human Factors community to help begin this increasingly important discussion. The goal of this panel is to have an open discussion on how we can leverage our specializations and expertise to address the cyber operations landscape as a community.