What is the Security Mindset? Can it be Developed?

Abstract

With the proliferation of information technology (IT) in the world, information security has become an important objective. In a networked IT world where transactions are conducted through extensive use of the internet, cybersecurity has become integral with information security. Security is one of the most exciting computing fields [1], since it has something that no other computer science field has, an adversary. The same element also makes it one of the most challenging fields because of the unpredictability and the creativity/imagination required. The dearth of faculty who can teach the theory and practice of security is a serious impediment to offering formal education in this domain. While virtual world environments, game-based learning, cyberwars, and other learning-focused interactions have the potential to introduce security concepts and thinking skills in an engaging way to students and professionals, there is also a need to inculcate a 'security mindset,' [1]. This session will explore the concept of the security mindset including what it is, what tools security educators need to help inculcate it, and how it can be developed and/or taught in the spirit of 'training the trainers.' 1Rakesh M. Verma, Ray Parthasarathy, and Lila Ghemri. 2020. Web page for the SIGCSE 2021 BOF Session. http://www2.cs.uh.edu/~rmverma/bof.html.