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.

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.