Self-Regulation and Cognitive Agility in Cyber Operations.

Øyvind Jøsok,Benjamin James Knox,Kirsi Helkala,Ricardo Lugo,Stefan Sütterlin

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00875

Abstract

Reliance upon data networks to conduct military operations presents new challenges to the competence profiles of military personnel. Specifically the increased demand for the new category of military cyber personnel is a direct consequence of the utility of the cyber domain in contemporary military operations, both to support leadership processes and as a domain of operations on its own. The conflation of the cyber and physical domains empowers cyber operators to influence events beyond their immediate physical environment. Proper education and training of such personnel requires new insight into the competencies that are beyond cyber specific technical skills, to govern the complexity of operating in a cyber-physical hybrid environment. This pilot research contributes to the debate on military cyber personnel competencies by investigating how cyber defense operator’s level of self-regulation can contribute to their performance in operations. We hypothesize that higher levels of self-regulation predicts higher levels of cognitive agility as measured by cognitive movement in The Hybrid Space conceptual framework. Displays of cognitive agility within The Hybrid Space have previously been linked to performance in defensive cyber operations. A positive association was therefore expected between levels of self-regulation and displays of cognitive agility. N = 23 cyber cadets from the Norwegian Defence Cyber Academy (NDCA) completed self-regulation questionnaires (SRQs) and self-reported their cognitive location in The Hybrid Space during a 4-day cyber defense exercise. Data showed that higher levels of self-regulation were associated with displays of cognitive agility. According to the regression models in use, self-regulation could explain 43.1% of the total cognitive movements in The Hybrid Space. Understanding factors that contribute to cyber operator performance are needed to improve education and training programs for military cyber personnel. Validating self-regulation as a contributing factor to cognitive agility is important as this can be a pathway to empirically underpin individual cyber operator performance.

Highlights

The increased utility of, and reliance upon, the cyber domain in military operations has led to higher demand of technically qualified cyber personnel (Champion et al, 2014)
We contribute to cyber operator competence profiles by investigating if cyber operators’ self-regulation is associated with performance in cyber operations
The results show that higher levels of self-regulation in cyber cadets are associated with displays of cognitive agility as measured by movement in The Hybrid Space, supporting the hypothesis

Summary

Introduction

The increased utility of, and reliance upon, the cyber domain in military operations has led to higher demand of technically qualified cyber personnel (Champion et al, 2014). This is demonstrated through investment in cyber defense units, cyber defense education (NATO, 2016a), and the recognition of cyberspace as a domain of operations (NATO, 2016b). The Hybrid Space framework acknowledges that the work environment of military cyber operators is influenced by factors like, e.g., team-work, leadership, hierarchy, communication, etc., but is influenced by the intangible character of the digital context and information domain – “shifting demands from physical fitness toward cognitive performance” It allows the cyber operator to engage in strategic thinking while performing cyber operator tasks on a tactical level (Jøsok et al, 2016)

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Discussion

Conclusion