A cyberattack involves multiple actors whose motivation, thinking, behaviours and experiences often going back into early childhood of all actors. This research stream of the CSA Swiss Chapter is looking into the psychological motivations of attackers, potential approaches how to influence behaviours of attackers to turn them into positive constructive contribution rather than negative harmful destruction, and how to approach mindsets of those who may be attacked in order to preempt and prevent attacks from being successful. Lastly, if under attack, the behaviours of those who are impacted by the attack may significantly change how severe the impact of the attack will be, which is a further important aspect to explore.
Outline of the Research
1. The Attacker: mindset, behaviours and influences
2. The Victim: aspects of behaviours to preempt, prevent or mitigate attacks from being successful
3. What if it happened: how to behave under attack to positively influence the course of action and outcome
4. Mindset change: what to consider in order to turn evil into positive
5. Behaviour change: how to apply curiosity and turn it into mischievousvigilance
6. Organisational change: modifying processes, incentives and organisational mindset to effect a culture change
A Working Group within the CSA Swiss Chapter is in the process of being set up. Call for contribution to cooperate in this important research stream.
Psychological motivations of attackers, their origins, transmission aspects, "receiver side" mindsets and behaviours, how to change ...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidlytransforming various aspects of our lives, driving increased efficiency andautomation. However, this technological advancement also presents significantchallenges to cybersecurity. Cybercriminals, unconstrained by ethicalconsiderations, are increasingly leveraging AI for malicious purposes, withsocial engineering attacks being a prime target. The growing accessibility ofAI tools further exacerbates this issue, making it easier for even lesssophisticated actors to deploy these tactics.
The new Cyber Threat Psychology Research Project intends to set the focus on the supply side i.e. the hackers and their motivations and incentive structures, what made them become a hacker, the transmission mechanisms supporting the attack to succeed, and of course also on the receiving side i.e. the victims.
