Human factors approach to cybersecurity teamwork – the military perspective

Abstract

Successful national cyber defence requires talented experts who can work together in teams. In military organizations, there has been a long history of methods defining how talents and teams can be developed. Drills and practices can serve as a unique opportunity for setting up successful groups to protect military IT systems even in the most hostile environment, however the cyberspace might be different from the physical space from the human perspective. In this paper, we introduce some ways of how cybersecurity incidents are managed in the military environment; in addition, we describe the main requirements towards humans in milCERTs and how these requirements differentiate from civilian CERTs. Further on, we highlight the institutional background of Hungary’s cybersecurity training, specifically underlining the role of National University of Public Service in it, which is responsible for the education of all public servants, including cadets. The paper also focuses on the major challenges and some suggestions from Academia how to respond to them by building successful teams for the protection of national cyberspace.