Dr. Mary Aiken stands on the forefront of cyberpsychology, exploring the intricate relationship between expertise and human behaviour.
As a professor and chair of the Division of Cyberpsychology at Capitol Expertise College in Washington D.C., and a Professor of Forensic Cyberpsychology on the College of East London, she has devoted her profession to understanding the psychological implications of our digital lives.
A extremely sought-after cybersecurity speaker, Dr Aiken shares her experience on world levels, providing distinctive insights into cyber behaviour and digital threat. We spoke along with her to delve into the evolving panorama of cyberpsychology, the challenges posed by rising applied sciences, and the way people and organisations can navigate the complexities of the digital age.
In your view, how important is it that cybersecurity evolves to completely incorporate the human layer, and what are probably the most urgent psychological elements that should now be addressed?
To begin with, let’s discuss our on-line world. As cyber psychologists, individuals like myself have been discussing our on-line world for one of the best a part of 20 years. In actual fact, in 2016, NATO formally ratified our on-line world as an atmosphere — as a website — recognising that the battles of the long run would happen not solely on land, sea, and air, but additionally throughout laptop networks.
The US navy conceptualises our on-line world as comprising three layers. Firstly, there may be the bodily community, which incorporates the {hardware}, cables, and infrastructure. Secondly, there may be the logical community, which facilitates communication throughout these networks. And at last, there may be the cyber persona layer—that’s us, the people.
Once we discuss incorporating the human layer into the cybersecurity equation, we have now to acknowledge that we’ve had 50 to 60 years of cybersecurity, and it has been very efficient in addressing the primary two layers: the bodily and logical networks. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of cyberattacks in the present day are pushed by social engineering — and social engineering has way more to do with psychology than with expertise.
Because of this, we’re now seeing the emergence of a brand new sector underneath the broader umbrella of cybersecurity: the net security expertise sector, or SafetyTech. I’m proud to be one of many founding members of this sector within the UK. Our mission is to develop technological options to technology-facilitated issues — specifically dangerous and felony behaviours on-line.
To summarise, we should issue the human into the cybersecurity equation — from the attitude of customers, workers, and cyber attackers. And after we have a look at the spectrum of cyber menace actors — from state-sponsored to state-condoned, from hacktivists to activists, from organised cybercrime to classy menace teams — we want options that aren’t solely technically strong and resilient, but additionally account for human psychological resilience.
We would like our knowledge techniques and networks to be safe, however equally, we want the individuals working these techniques to be psychologically protected, strong, and resilient. That’s how we will ship on what I name 360-degree resilience.
As one of many foremost consultants in cyber psychology, how does the science underpinning this subject inform your public talking, notably when partaking with sectors grappling with tech-driven behavioural change?
In cyber psychology, we examine particular results — for instance, the net disinhibition impact — which explains why individuals usually behave in methods on-line that they’d by no means think about in the true world. It’s a key behavioural driver in digital environments.
We additionally discover the facility of on-line anonymity, which might be helpful in some contexts however can even act like a ‘superhuman energy of invisibility’. And, as with all powers, it comes with accountability — one thing not all the time exercised properly by people.
In fact, we additionally observe optimistic on-line behaviours, similar to altruism, seen in actions like crowdsourced fundraising. The basic precept is that human behaviour adjustments in on-line environments, and understanding the influence of those behavioural shifts is important.
By my talking engagements, I’ve the privilege of addressing a variety of sectors — expertise, cybersecurity, infosec, monetary providers, training, e-commerce, and healthcare. All of those industries profit from deeper insights into how expertise influences human behaviour, each from the consumer and operator views.
My analysis spans quite a lot of areas, together with cyberchondria — a type of well being nervousness that manifests on-line. Many people have skilled this: a headache shortly spirals into Googling signs, resulting in panic over critical situations like mind tumours.
One other latest space of focus is cyber fraud. Within the UK, laws such because the On-line Security Act is geared toward addressing this type of cyber-enabled criminality. I’ve contributed to quite a few data campaigns that target one among my key areas of experience: cyber behavioural profiling.
Many campaigns inform individuals, “Don’t click on the hyperlink.” I am going a step additional — I analyse the semantics of phishing messages, breaking down how attackers manipulate language and psychology to compel customers to behave. Understanding the emotional and cognitive triggers that cybercriminals exploit helps us higher educate the general public and defend towards such assaults.
When it comes to speak subjects, I cowl a broad spectrum — from human elements in cybersecurity to cyber behavioural profiling, and more and more, the psychology of AI.
With the fast rise of generative AI and different superior applied sciences, how should stakeholders throughout trade and authorities recalibrate their considering to successfully handle each threat and alternative?
In terms of applied sciences like AI, we’ve seen many false dawns — in addition to various ethical panics. Take the emergence of ChatGPT, as an illustration. Folks grew to become excited by the novelty of chatbots, however in fact, chatbots have been round for many years.
The primary chatbot, Eliza, was developed within the Sixties. She was modelled on Rogerian psychology and was extremely efficient at eliciting data. When she requested questions like “How are you?” and adopted up with “Inform me extra about your day,” individuals started sharing deeply private tales. The response was so robust that the programme was shut down pretty shortly — its inventor was reportedly horrified by how a lot individuals disclosed.
Within the Nineties, I had the pleasure of working with one other chatbot, Jabberwacky, which was developed by a colleague of mine. It was a superb and modern piece of expertise. What we’re witnessing now could be the continued evolution of this house.
As for the widespread concern that AI will replicate human intelligence and render us out of date, I stay sceptical. As a behavioural scientist, I’d level out that we don’t but absolutely perceive how the human mind works. The concept we will replicate or substitute one thing we don’t absolutely comprehend is, to me, a flawed premise.
As an alternative of specializing in ‘synthetic intelligence’, I advocate for a special method: IIA (Intelligence Augmentation). This idea, impressed by Licklider’s Nineteen Fifties work Man-Laptop Symbiosis, proposes a mannequin by which human and machine intelligence work symbiotically.
With IIA, we hold the human on the centre of the method. That, I consider, is how we should always body our engagement with AI and machine studying – specializing in augmentation, not alternative.
Trying forward, there are undoubtedly thrilling and important adjustments on the horizon. I’m notably within the convergence of quantum computing, machine studying, and AI. That mixture will be the level at which we really start to imitate points of human intelligence.
In delivering insights throughout world establishments, from NATO to the UN, what core message or shift in mindset do you most hope audiences will stroll away with after listening to you converse?
As one of many world’s main consultants in cyber psychology, I’ve had the honour of being invited to talk at high-level boards around the globe — from the White Home to NATO, from the United Nations to INTERPOL.
When it comes to conferences, I’ve spoken at gatherings throughout the spectrum — cybersecurity, infosec, healthtech, fintech, regtech, edtech, in addition to coverage and policing boards. This breadth and depth replicate the common relevance of cyber psychology in in the present day’s digital world.
My position is to equip audiences with the information, instruments, and skillsets wanted to confront the advanced challenges that emerge on the intersection of people and expertise.
I assist individuals suppose in another way — empowering them to design and deploy technology-based options to technology-facilitated issues, together with dangerous and felony on-line behaviours.
In the end, my purpose is to make individuals extra knowledgeable, extra assured, and higher ready to interact with expertise in a approach that’s protected, moral, and efficient.
And most significantly, I intention to encourage collaboration, as a result of we’re all working on this shared atmosphere of our on-line world. If we’re to make it safer and safer, it can take collective accountability and world cooperation.
Picture by Mostafa Saeed on Unsplash
This interview with Dr Mary Aiken was performed by Mark Matthews.
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