Task Interruptions Undermine Cyber Defense

Abstract

Computer network defense analysts engage a difficult, though critical, task in cyber defense. Anecdotally, these operators complain of frequent task interruptions while they are performing their duties. The goal for the current study was to investigate the effect of a commonly reported interruption, answering email, on accuracy and completion times in a simulated network analyst task. During task trials, participants were interrupted by emails between alert investigations, during alert investigations, or not at all (control). The results indicated that email interruptions increased alert completion times regardless of when they occurred, but interruptions that occurred during an alert investigation also reduced the accuracy of subsequent judgments about alert threat. Overall, the results suggest that task interruptions can potentially undermine cyber defense, and steps should be taken to better quantify and mitigate this threat.

Auditory Versus Visual Interruptions: A Skeptical Perspective on Auditory Preemption and Suggestions for Advancing Theory

“…As multitasking demands accumulate, the ability of people to maintain acceptable levels of task performance can be compromised. Interruptions have been associated with negative effects on attention, productivity, and psychological well-being (Kushlev et al, 2016) and have been a source of concern for human performance in various domains including healthcare (Kalisch & Aebersold, 2010), education (Sana et al, 2013), driving (J. D. Lee, 2014), aviation (Loukopoulos et al, 2001), and cyber defense (Vieane et al, 2017). Tasks in these domains tend to require visual perception of displays and the physical environment.…”

Opportunities and Challenges for Human-Machine Teaming in Cybersecurity Operations

“…The Human Factors community appears poised to encourage the multidisciplinary and methodological rigor required to address a number of issues in cybersecurity. Foundational to most of this work is the need to focus on the human through the development of AI and automation (e.g., Mancuso, Funke, Strang, & Eckold, 2015;Martin, Dubé, & Coovert, 2018;Maymi & Thomson, 2018;Vieane et al, 2017) and the development of the human-automation interfaces (e.g., Franklin, Pirrung, Blaha, Dowling, & Feng, 2017). Our motivation is driven by the need to emphasize human-machine teaming issues in cybersecurity.…”

Panel: Research Sponsors for Cybersecurity Research and the Human Factor

“…The human remains a critical element in this ecosystem, influencing security across the board. The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) is no stranger to the domain, with contributions at every annual conference going back at least to 2005, and increasing in the last years across a broad range of topics, including decision-making, biases, attention, teamwork, modeling, situation awareness, task analysis, automation, phishing, and passwords (Ben-Asher & Meyer, 2018;Borghetti et al, 2017;Boyce et al, 2011;Champion et al, 2012;D'Amico et al, 2005;Dutt, Ahn, & Gonzalez, 2013;Gutzwiller et al, 2015;2018;Juang & Greenstein, 2018;Knott et al, 2013;Mahoney et al, 2010;Mancuso, Funke, Strang, & Eckold, 2015;Paul et al, 2019;Proctor & Chen, 2015;Rajivan, Janssen, & Cooke, 2013;Rajivan & Cooke, 2018;Sawyer et al, 2014;Sawyer & Hancock, 2018;Trent, Hoffman, Leota, Frost, & Gonzalez, 2016;Veksler et al, 2018;Vieane et al, 2016Vieane et al, , 2017.…”