Cybersecurity Professional Career Paper: Cybersecurity Analyst

Israel Thompson

School of Cybersecurity, Old Dominion University

CYSE 201S: Cybersecurity and the Social Science

Professor Yalpi

11/16/2025

Introduction

The cybersecurity profession that I will be doing my research on is a Cybersecurity Analyst. A cybersecurity analyst’s job is to monitor networks, check for breaches, investigate any incidents within the network, and apply security measures. Cybersecurity is important in the modern world because it’s here to protect and maintain security within systems. The purpose of this paper is to choose a career and talk about how the professionals that are in this career rely on social science research and social science principles. This paper will cover social science principles, key concepts, marginalization, and how the career is connected to society.

Social Science principles

The role of social science research when it comes to cybersecurity helps people get a general understanding of why hackers may try to hack people. Hackers have secret motivations behind why they do what they do. Some hackers will hack people to steal their money, for revenge if they are holding a grudge against them, jealousy, and envy. Cybersecurity professionals use social science principles to study how hackers behave on the internet. Examining the way they think and what steps they take to gain the trust of people that they are hacking.

Application of Key Concepts

Key concepts such as human behavior, social impact, privacy, and research methods used for social science all play key roles in the cybersecurity field to help improve the field. Professionals will study and see how humans behave to see if they are more likely to be a victim of a cyberattack. Social impact from friends can cause you to do things you don’t normally do and put your privacy at risk. Research methods that are used for social science are taking security measures into your own hands, knowing which websites and links are legit before clicking, making sure the systems you use are trusted, and knowing what to share and what not to share while being online.

Marginalization

Some marginalized groups can be targeted more than others due to how their technology is set up. In some places in the world technology is not as strong and reliable as other places, so that comes with increased chances of cyberattacks and systems being shut down. With cybersecurity being in high demand it’s recommended that all different types of people no matter the race or skin color learn and join the field. Some programs offer cybersecurity courses and material to those that are apart of those marginalized groups, so that they can better their understanding and maybe have a future in the field if they decide to. These efforts are what is being put out by professionals to help those groups and hope to better the technology and security for them.

Career Connection to Society

Cybersecurity professionals contribute to the safety of financial and healthcare systems by being that first person line of defense to protect their information. Overseeing and controlling the systems to make sure everything is running smoothly and no breaches are coming through. Public policies such as copyright laws and building trust within people and businesses are related to cybersecurity and their societal implications. Copyright laws make sure that information that is already published cannot be stolen or used elsewhere. Building that trust within people and business is what cybersecurity is all about, because without trust how can a business run and how will the professionals protect the businesses network?

Scholarly Journal Articles

10 Cybersecurity Jobs to Know: Entry-Level and Beyond | Coursera

Why is Cybersecurity Important? | UpGuard5 Ways Social Research Amplifies Marginalized Voices for Greater Equity

5 Ways Social Research Amplifies Marginalized Voices for Greater Equity