International Journal On Cyber Situational Awareness (IJCSA)
ISSN: (Print) 2057-2182 ISSN: (Online) 2057-2182
DOI: 10.22619/IJCSA
Published Semi-annually. Est. 2014
Editor-in-Chief:
Dr Cyril Onwubiko, Chair – Cyber Security & Intelligence, E-Security Group, Research Series, London, UK; IEEE UK & Ireland Section Secretary
Associate Editors:
Professor Frank Wang, Head of School / Professor of Future Computing, Chair IEEE Computer Society, UK&RI, School of Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
Dr Thomas Owens, Senior Lecturer & Director of Quality, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Brunel University, London, UK
Visual Analytics for Non-Expert Users in Cyber Situation Awareness
Philip Legg
Abstract:
Situation awareness is often described as the perception and comprehension of the current situation, and the projection of future status. Whilst this may be well understood in an organisational cybersecurity context, there is a strong case to be made for effective cybersecurity situation awareness that is tailored to the needs of the Non-Expert User (NEU). Our online usage habits are rapidly evolving with smartphones and tablets being widely used to access resources online. In order for NEUs to remain safe online, there is a need to enhance awareness and understanding of cybersecurity concerns, such as how devices may be acting online, and what data is being shared between devices. In this paper, we extend our proposal of the Enhanced Personal Situation Awareness (ePSA) framework to consider the key details of cyber situation awareness that would be of concern to NEUs, and we consider how such information can be effectively conveyed using a visual analytic approach. We present the design of our visual analytics approach to show how this can represent the key details of cyber situation awareness whilst maintaining a simple and clean design scheme so as to not result in information-overload for the user. The guidance developed through the course of this work can help practitioners develop tools that could help NEUs better understand their online actions, with the aim of giving users greater control and safer experiences when their personal devices are acting online.
Keywords: Situation Awareness, Visual Analytics, Cyber Security
ISSN: 2057-2182
Volume 1. No. 1
DOI: 10.22619/IJCSA.2016.100103
Date: Nov. 2016
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Legg, P. (2016). Visual Analytics for Non-Expert Users in Cyber Situation Awareness. International Journal on Cyber Situational Awareness, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp54-73.