A joint research project between Seculyze, VENZO Cyber Security and ITU is exploring new ways to make cybersecurity accessible to users.
Cybersecurity analysts are hard-pressed to keep up with the speed and complexity of cyberattacks because current cyber tools often show security alerts in one-dimensional formats, whereas attackers employ multidimensional attack vectors. In other words, analysts are struggling to understand the complex cyberattacks with the current technology at their disposal.
Alex Steninge Jacobsen explains:
In cybersecurity software tools, alerts for cyber-defenders are conventionally shown in (one-dimensonal) lists. But cyber-attackers act in multiple dimensions. They often employ several attack vectors and sometimes, the combination of several information sources provides the opening for an attack. We need defenders to think and act in the same way to ensure better and faster countermeasures
Analysts need tools with smarter and more accessible user interfaces to match the speed and capabilities of cyber attackers. The key is to create more efficient workloads through the user experience.
Research shows that software applications that offer a better user experience often outperform applications with more functionality
, says Daniel Cermak-Sassenrath, Associate Professor of ITU.
The collaboration between Seculyze, VENZO Cyber Security, and ITU will seek to alleviate the mismatch in capabilities between analysts and attackers by creating user-accessible interactive visuals that empower analysts to clearly understand their alerts and the data attached to them. A greater understanding and overview of the alerts will allow analysts to reduce alert fatigue by quickly pinpointing which alerts they need to focus on.
The engaging, multidimensional visual representations align technical data with users tasks, skills, and priorities so that security analysts can employ user-friendly tools to make fast and informed decisions.
Seculyze, alongside the UX and design expertise of ITU, will spear-head the development of the software and user interface. VENZO Cyber Security will employ its cybersecurity analysts to user-test the software.
We look forward to the close collaboration between VENZO Cyber Security, Seculyze, and ITU. We have no doubt that by coupling our expertise, together we can develop a user interface that makes cybersecurity much more efficient for the users
Alice Leth Sørensen, CEO of VENZO Cyber Security, said of the partnership.
The research expects to achieve a thorough understanding of the UX needs of security analysts and the development of a fully-accessible and effective cybersecurity tool. The software will pair with SIEM systems like Microsoft Sentiniel to greatly reduce the vulnerabilities open to attackers.
“By equipping analysts with high-powered and accessible tools we can greatly reduce the high cost – for both companies and society – of cyberattacks”, said Alex Steninge Jacobsen.
