Date of Award

Spring 12-2022

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity

Advisor/Committee Chair

Benjamin Yankson, Ph.D.

Abstract

Human error is a significant contributing factor to the rise in Cybersecurity attacks regardless of increased technical control implemented to safeguard Information systems. Adversaries can circumvent technical safeguards due to human errors which result from inadequate enforceable policies and training on Cybersecurity for the everyday user. Several studies and articles show that the majority of successful attacks are human enabled, proving the need for human-centric cybersecurity research and practices. This exploratory work reviews the human aspect of Cybersecurity by investigating the cybersecurity policies at SUNY Albany and other SUNY institutions. We used a survey of students and faculty members at SUNY Albany to examine the adequacy of current cybersecurity training and information offered. The result from this work shows that improved Cybersecurity awareness, training, and policies are necessary requirements to significantly affect the degree of errors users make therefore minimizing the chances of Cyberattacks. Based on our literature review and study conducted across selected universities within the SUNY system, we provide recommendations that can inform universities and other institutions of the vulnerabilities and how they can improve their cybersecurity policies and practices to minimize human error as a threat to their information systems components necessary to support ongoing operations.

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