Cybersecurity Workforce Research Articles

Teamwork in Cybersecurity: Evaluating the Cooperative Board Game [d0x3d!] as an Experimental Testbed

It is crucial to identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) that contribute to success in cybersecurity teams. We introduce a board game, [d0x3d!], as an experimental testbed designed to create a controlled environment and set of manageable tasks aimed at exploring teamwork competencies that may be relevant to the cybersecurity workforce. [d0x3d!] requires players to work together and share information to retrieve stolen digital assets. The authors aim to improve the efficacy of cybersecurity team training by incorporating modern teamwork theory and measurement. This testbed provides a low-cost and user-friendly platform for training, evaluation, and research.

A Cyber Counterintelligence Competence Framework: Developing the Job Roles

In recent years, there have been intensifying cyber risks and volumes of cyber incidents prompting a significant shift in the cyber threat landscape. Both nation-state and non-state actors are increasingly resolute and innovative in their techniques and operations globally. These intensifying cyber risks and incidents suggest that cyber capability is inversely proportional to cyber risks, threats and attacks. Therefore, this confirms an emergent and critical need to adopt and invest in intelligence strategies, predominantly cyber counterintelligence (CCI), which is a multi-disciplinary and proactive measure to mitigate risks and counter cyber threats and cyber-attacks. Concurrent with the adoption of CCI is an appreciation that requisite job roles must be defined and developed. Notwithstanding the traction that CCI is gaining, we found no work on a clear categorisation for the CCI job roles in the academic or industry literature surveyed. Furthermore, from a cybersecurity perspective, it is unclear which job roles constitute the CCI field.
 This paper stems from and expands on the authors’ prior research on developing a CCI Competence Framework. The proposed CCI Competence Framework consists of four critical elements deemed essential for CCI workforce development. In order of progression, the Framework’s elements are: CCI Dimensions (passive-defensive, active-defensive, passive-offensive, active-offensive), CCI Functional Areas (detection, deterrence, deception, neutralisation), CCI Job Roles (associated with each respective Functional Area), and Tasks and Competences (allocated to each job role). Pivoting on prior research on CCI Dimensions and CCI Functional Areas, this paper advances a proposition on associated Job Roles in a manner that is both intelligible and categorised.
 To this end, the paper advances a five-step process that evaluates and examines Counterintelligence and Cybersecurity Job Roles and functions to derive a combination of new or existing Job Roles required for the CCI workforce/professionals. Although there are several cybersecurity frameworks for workforce development, establishing the CCI Job Roles is specifically based on the expression of the Job Roles defined in the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework.

Cybersecurity Workforce Landscape, Education, and Industry Growth Prospects in Southeast Asia

Given the chronic lack of qualified professionals in the cybersecurity industry, the present paper seeks to evaluate the current interest in cybersecurity across Southeast Asia nations and then compare it with the available educational offerings of related degrees in each country to identify eventual gaps in the market. The goal is to assess whether there is a need for additional degree programs in cybersecurity and to evaluate the potential for future growth in the industry by providing a solid educational foundation for aspiring professionals. To estimate current interest from prospective students and profesionals in cybersecurity across each country, leaderboards from the popular TryHackMe gamified cybersecurity training platform are referenced. We further discuss issues by considering the related formal education programmes offered by the top universities in each country, identified by their presence in the QS world university rankings. The data are then used to propose two new metrics: the ‘Cybersecurity Education Prospects Index’ (CEPI) and the ‘Cybersecurity Industry Prospects Index’ (CIPI), which show how most of the eleven countries in Southeast Asia do have an unmet demand for cybersecurity education and only a few of them have already developed an educational infrastructure that is ready to support the growing needs of the local and international industry.

Fast, Lightweight, and Efficient Cybersecurity Optimization for Tactical–Operational Management

The increase in frequency and complexity of cyberattacks has heightened concerns regarding cybersecurity and created an urgent need for organizations to take action. To effectively address this challenge, a comprehensive and integrated approach is required involving a cross-functional cybersecurity workforce that spans tactical and operational levels. In this context there can be various combinations of cybersecurity actions that affect different functional domains and that allow for meeting the established requirements. In these cases, agreement will be needed, but finding high-quality combinations requires analysis from all perspectives on a case-by-case basis. With a large number of cybersecurity factors to consider, the size of the search space of potential combinations becomes unmanageable without automation. To solve this issue, we propose Fast, Lightweight, and Efficient Cybersecurity Optimization (FLECO), an adaptive, constrained, and multi-objective genetic algorithm that reduces the time required to identify sets of high-quality cybersecurity actions. FLECO enables productive discussions on viable solutions by the cross-functional cybersecurity workforce within an organization, fostering managing meetings where decisions are taken and boosting the overall cybersecurity management process. Our proposal is novel in its application of evolutionary computing to solve a managerial issue in cybersecurity and enhance the tactical–operational cybersecurity management process.

CyberReco:~Cybersecurity Workforce Readiness Recommender System

Using the United States National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education framework as a guide, we propose CyberReco - Cybersecurity Workforce Readiness Recommender System, an AI/ML model that attempts to address readiness gaps needed to prepare users lacking in some cybersecurity knowledge, skills, and activities to be workforce-ready. CyberReco is built using natural language processing. We present a hierarchical-based framework that is composed of four components including, text preparation and normalization, keywords extraction and processing, similarity scores and skills computation, and a recommender component.

Learn to Train Like You Fight

This qualitative study includes nine semi-structured interviews with cybersecurity experts from different security-related organizations who are familiar with cybersecurity exercises. Its contribution to cybersecurity workforce development focuses on organizational learning rather than individual skills development and relevant competencies. It was found that the utilization of thematic analysis methods develop individual readiness and expertise. It also enhances the maturity of an organization's processes, roles, communication, and exercise capabilities. Moreover, the exercises increase social trust between individuals and organizations through business-to-business cooperation. However, there were several barriers and challenges in utilizing learned skills and competencies within an organization, including a need to increase the capacity of staff members who participate in the exercise.

Examining Barriers to Entry: Disparate Gender Representation in Cybersecurity Within Sub-Saharan Africa

Globally, women are underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this underrepresentation is even more prevalent, as fewer women pursue STEM careers in SSA when compared to the global norm. Cybersecurity is a critical subsection of STEM; one that is widely accepted as a field with enormous growth potential, yet only a small proportion of these jobs belong to women. Despite attempts to narrow the gender gap in cybersecurity, persistent factors still contribute to this disparity. Within this field, developing countries struggle with the same issues that impact their more developed counterparts. Issues that impact both SSA and the global participation of women in cyber-security include lacking representation and awareness as well as retention problems. Further, issues such as harassment, gender bias and the idea that cybersecurity is a “man’s world” are also contributing factors. A slew of other factors is also at play in SSA; this includes issues of low school attendance by girls, restricted educational opportunities, and other systemic challenges. Girls and women are less likely to complete lower and secondary education, which has a ripple effect – fewer women reach higher education in SSA when compared to global trends. Generally, higher or tertiary education is necessary to join the cybersecurity workforce. Research exploring the challenges women in SSA face when trying to enter the cybersecurity field is limited. This paper presents an overview of the most persistent challenges faced in SSA and globally. It highlights the current skill shortage in the cybersecurity field that is exasperated by global challenges, including issues unique to the region. Educational pathways available to girls and women are explored, as well as the issues leading to widespread skill shortages within SSA. Programs striving to increase the participation of women in cybersecurity are discussed. Lastly, some suggestions to remediate this pervasive issue are also provided.

Cybersecurity communities of practice: Strategies for creating gateways to participation

Amidst the critical international demand for cybersecurity talent, educational institutions and industry stakeholders have emphasized the need for broadening access to various forms of formal educational pathways and certificate programs. While these efforts have operated to significantly increase the number of students engaged in formal cybersecurity education, little has been done to develop accessible entry points into informal cybersecurity communities of practice. In this paper, we argue that cybersecurity expertise is largely predicated on entry into and participation in these cybersecurity communities of practice. Emphasizing the role of the cybersecurity community draws attention to the importance of ad-hoc and informal experiences in the development of both tacit knowledge and social capital within the workforce, and the ways in which opportunities in the field are differentially and unequally distributed. As such, this paper begins by describing the role and importance of the cybersecurity community and cybersecurity culture in developing the cybersecurity workforce, followed by a discussion of existing efforts at two major state universities to develop cybersecurity education programs that explicitly provide onramps to the cybersecurity community. We close this paper by exploring practical mechanisms by which to develop educational experiences which act as both gateways into cybersecurity communities of practice and as agents of change for the field itself - seeking to actively scale the workforce while simultaneously creating space for minoritized voices in the field.

Security Mindset Fundamentals and Second Language Learning

Security mindsets can be said to engage elements of situational awareness and analytical, creative, and practical elements of adversarial thinking. Scholars have debated whether this is taught or fostered, but they have acknowledged that security mindsets are critical. Here, the argument is made that implicit features of language itself can be drawn on in everyday K12+ second language (L2) learning settings to introduce members of the general populace and, among them, potential future members of the cybersecurity workforce, to security thinking. Beyond the features of language itself, L2 lessons can also be adapted to familiarize students with explicit security-related topics and scenarios. By exploiting these novel connections between language learning and security thinking, L2 learning contexts can become a security mindset training ground for millions of U.S. students.

BEACON Labs

Cybersecurity is an interdisciplinary field that is concerned with protecting digital assets from cyber-attacks aiming to illegally access sensitive information in order to tamper and disrupt systems and processes. Producing cybersecurity materials that are vertically-aligned is highly desired, given the shortage of cybersecurity educators and the dynamic and evolving nature of cybersecurity. More specifically, universities must do more to help fill the huge cybersecurity workforce shortage and address the lack of materials centered around adversarial thinking. In this paper, we propose a four-step process to turn a recent cybersecurity paper into a hands-on lab that utilizes game theory to promote adversarial thinking and show a case study where this process was used. The four-step process explains how papers are chosen, their research replicated, the production of lab materials, and complementary materials for students to work from. The case study demonstrates this process in practice and explains how game theory is incorporated into the lab.

Physical Inspection and Attacks on Electronics: An Academic Course for the Hardware Cybersecurity Workforce

Many topics in the hardware security community, such as physical inspection and attacks, are still in early stages of research. As the semiconductor industry continues to advance towards higher volume production, there is an increasing demand to inspect and verify the functionality and security of these devices. This article aims to increase academic exposure to these research areas and raise awareness around educating the cybersecurity workforce.

Developmental Challenges: Capture the Flag and the Professionalization of Cybersecurity

Over the past two decades, Capture the Flag (CTF) style competitions have grown expansively from their origins at early hacker conferences into a persistent feature of the cybersecurity workforce worldwide (Gondree et al., 2016). Today CTFs operate as a gateway into the workforce, operating as a hands-on educational experience, recruitment mechanism for industry and government, and as a marker of legitimacy within the cybersecurity/hacker community. Individual CTF challenges (ideally) interweave often complex software-based puzzles that map contemporary cybersecurity skill sets with hacker and cybersecurity subcultural touchstones, conferring status upon both players who successfully complete the challenges and the developers themselves. Drawing on a genealogy of DEFCON CTF competitions, this paper traces the “growing pains” of cybersecurity as a professional field. Reading these challenges as engines of hacker culture, this analysis will examine the contested cultural values embedded within CTF challenges over time, providing insight into the intertwined and co-constituted elements of hacker culture and cybersecurity skill sets.

Towards the Usefulness of Learning Factories in the Cybersecurity Domain

The success of an organisation depends on its employees’ skills and the extent to which they are developed. Although organisations often assume employees are fit and ready for a new position or new developments in their functions, employees need adequate training before, during and after effective performance in their respective roles. Amongst other important roles, training is significant in problem-solving, continuously improving skills, and creating consistency or culture in the work environment. Nonetheless, the significance of training is often disregarded or not understood by organisations as there are often inadequacies, inconsistencies, and ignorance from the employer.
 Furthermore, organisations are facing cybersecurity skills shortages. Some specialists leave the profession due to a lack of skills or support. The lack of experienced and qualified cyber security specialists increases the risk of IT system systems being targeted with cyber-attacks. Having insufficient cybersecurity staff, companies may struggle to protect their networks from attacks. Organisations are being placed into a troubling position as the threat landscape continues to evolve. With the growth in volume and sophistication of cyber security attacks, the problem of a skilled workforce is exasperated.
 In order to support the cybersecurity workforce, this paper proposes the implementation of learning factories. Typically, learning factories have been used in the manufacturing sector. However, the fundamental principles and guiding ideologies can also be applied in the cybersecurity domain. Learning factories provide a mechanism to remove the barriers of entering the field of cybersecurity by cultivating and nurturing a cybersecurity workforce. They enable the broadening of the scope for talent and change our current working practices and tighten the gap between education and experience. The closing of the talent gap is an important imperative for cybersecurity. In this paper, a motivation and description of the functionality of learning factories for cybersecurity is provided. Through this paper the benefits of learning factories will be highlighted in order to show the advantages of active engagements in learning activities, real-world application and information sharing.

The Future of Cybersecurity Workforce Development

This paper will discuss the future of cybersecurity workforce development. Cybersecurity is a field that is increasingly becoming important in today's workplaces. Considering the rapid growth of technology, it is expected that the field of cybersecurity will change significantly in the future. As such, preparedness is needed to ensure that the future cybersecurity workforce is not hindered by a lack of training, resources, or technical expertise. The personality traits of a cybersecurity professional should be evaluated before the assumption of a given occupation to ensure that this professional is the best fit and possesses all skills, values, and values required for that post. Teamwork should be integral in future workforce development because, according to the current trend in different industries, being a team player is essential. Lastly, cybersecurity professionals should be trained to observe ethics and civic duty by being loyal to their employers. They should also prioritize continued learning because the cyber domain is ever-changing and requires flexibility and adjustment. This paper will first explore the cyber environment and highlight some of the challenges currently facing the area. Next, the most fundamental skills needed for the furtherance of this field will be covered. One area that will be the paper's focus will be the importance of social skills. The article will finally provide an overview of some of the anticipated changes that will take place in the area of cybersecurity workforce development.

Identifying Incentives to Address Attrition in the Government Cybersecurity Workforce

Identifying Incentives to Address Attrition in the Government Cybersecurity Workforce

Towards Measuring the Readiness of the Cybersecurity Workforce in Sri Lanka

Towards Measuring the Readiness of the Cybersecurity Workforce in Sri Lanka

Remapping cybersecurity competences in a small nation state

The impact of cybersecurity (CS) on public well-being is increasing due to the continued digitisation process of all industry sectors. The protection of information systems rests upon a sufficient number of CS specialists and their competences. A cyber-competence map describing the capacity and trends of the CS workforce is an essential element of the workforce development strategy. Large enterprises tend to have narrowly specialised employees with clearly identifiable roles. Still, most enterprises in small countries are SMEs. Therefore, the tasks and responsibilities of many CS-related specialists overlap the functions of several roles. This paper aims to develop a small-state cybersecurity competence map consistent with the standards of professional organisations. The work applies a combined qualitative and quantitative methodological approach to collect data using questionnaires and expert interviews in the CS field organisations. The study includes a representative public survey, a large-scale survey of company executives, an exploratory CS expert survey, and a comprehensive job posting analysis. Finally, a national CS competence map is presented and verified using two qualitative semi-structured interviews with field professionals. Even though the map reflects a status of a small nation state, it is activity-based and might be applicable in any country. As a future research direction, we will investigate the impact of early and late exposure to cybersecurity competences in education and framework applicability.

Implementation of Cybersecurity Risk Theory and Model in Healthcare

This review paper examines the implementation of cybersecurity risk theory and models in Healthcare, including their benefits and challenges. The paper begins with an overview of cybersecurity risk theory and models, including the STAMP theory and various types of models. It then compares different cybersecurity risk models and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. The paper also explores case studies of the successful implementation of cybersecurity risk models in Healthcare and the challenges these organizations face. The importance of risk assessment and management in healthcare cybersecurity and strategies for mitigating cybersecurity risks are highlighted. The paper concludes with future research and practice recommendations, including the need for more sophisticated risk models, addressing the cybersecurity workforce shortage, understanding the impact of emerging technologies, increasing collaboration between healthcare organizations, and conducting more empirical studies. Keywords: Cybersecurity, Risk assessment, Risk management, Healthcare, Implementation, Risk models

RQ Labs: A Cybersecurity Workforce Skills Development Framework.

This research contributes to the knowledge of how Information Systems (IS) researchers can iteratively intervene with practitioners to co-create instructional programs with a framework designed for fast-paced, rapidly changing IS fields such as cybersecurity. We demonstrate how complex fields, such as cybersecurity, have the need for a skilled workforce that continues to rapidly outpace supply from universities. IS researchers partnering with practitioners can use this research as an exemplar of a method to design, build, and evaluate these innovative co-curricular IS programs. Moreover, we find these co-curricular IS programs are essential to upskilling students, integrating training on the latest tools, systems, and processes in these rapidly evolving disciplines.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10796-022-10332-y.

Analysis of cyber security knowledge gaps based on cyber security body of knowledge.

Due to the increasing number of cyber incidents and overwhelming skills shortage, it is required to evaluate the knowledge gap between cyber security education and industrial needs. As such, the objective of this study is to identify the knowledge gaps in cyber security graduates who join the cyber security workforce. We designed and performed an opinion survey by using the Cyber Security Knowledge Areas (KAs) specified in the Cyber Security Body of Knowledge (CyBOK) that comprises 19 KAs. Our data was gathered from practitioners who work in cyber security organizations. The knowledge gap was measured and evaluated by acknowledging the assumption for employing sequent data as nominal data and improved it by deploying chi-squared test. Analyses demonstrate that there is a gap that can be utilized to enhance the quality of education. According to acquired final results, three key KAs with the highest knowledge gap are Web and Mobile Security, Security Operations and Incident Management. Also, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Software Lifecycles, and Vulnerabilities are the knowledge areas with largest difference in perception of importance between less and more experienced personnel. We discuss several suggestions to improve the cyber security curriculum in order to minimize the knowledge gaps. There is an expanding demand for executive cyber security personnel in industry. High-quality university education is required to improve the qualification of upcoming workforce. The capability and capacity of the national cyber security workforce is crucial for nations and security organizations. A wide range of skills, namely technical skills, implementation skills, management skills, and soft skills are required in new cyber security graduates. The use of each CyBOK KA in the industry was measured in response to the extent of learning in university environments. This is the first study conducted in this field, it is considered that this research can inspire the way for further researches.