Keynote: Human Perspectives in Cybersecurity: How Mental State and Social Interactions Can Affect Cybersecurity Posture

This keynote explores how psychological factors and social dynamics shape security behavior and practices. By Naomi Woods and Hanna Paananen.

Cybersecurity is not just a technical challenge—it’s a human one. This keynote explores how psychological factors and social dynamics shape security behavior and practices.

In the first part, Dr Woods presents research on how depression and anxiety influence individuals’ intentions to violate information security policies, including the role of neutralization techniques. She further discusses the broader impact of employees’ mental states on their security-related decisions and actions.

Naomi Woods is a Research Coordinator in the field of cyber security. With a background in psychology and cognitive science, Woods brings a new perspective to understanding information security behaviour and end-user authentication. Her research focuses on password security and memorability, inclusivity and accessibility of cyber security, and the interaction of mental health on security behaviour. In addition she leads the Human Perspectives in Cyber Security Research Group.

In the second part, Dr Paananen examines how social interaction issues affect cybersecurity collaboration between organizations, particularly when sharing critical assets such as operational technology and data ecosystems. Social issues such as trust and power dynamics both enable and complicate negotiations, joint innovation, and resilience against external shocks. Together, the talks offer a fresh perspective on integrating human factors into cybersecurity in systems and organizations.

Hanna Paananen is a university teacher and a researcher in the field of information systems science and cybersecurity. Her research interests include organizational information security policies, cybersecurity management in value networks, and end-user authentication. Her research focuses on human perspectives in information security, drawing inspiration from other fields such as ethics and social sciences.