Margaret Cunningham: A people scientist with a technology focus. [Behavioral science} [Career Notes]
Feb 2, 2025
auto_awesome
Discover the fascinating journey of a principal research scientist who transitioned from aspiring English professor to a leader in cybersecurity. Explore her insights on how human behavior impacts technology and the importance of continuous learning. Learn about her role at the Department of Homeland Security, focusing on human systems integration and performance measurement. Margaret shares her belief in creating champions for human behavior in tech, emphasizing the significance of networking and keeping updated in this ever-evolving field.
Margaret Cunningham highlights the critical need to integrate human behavior considerations early in technology deployment to prevent unforeseen issues.
She emphasizes the importance of fostering professional connections and continuously updating knowledge in the evolving field of cybersecurity.
Deep dives
The Shift in Cybersecurity Approach
Traditional cybersecurity measures, such as firewalls and VPNs, have proven increasingly ineffective, with a marked rise in ransomware attacks and significant financial breaches in 2024. Conventional tools tend to expand an organization's attack surface, exposing public-facing IPs that can be easily exploited, particularly with the advancing capabilities of AI tools. A new security paradigm, represented by Zscaler's Zero Trust model, emphasizes the importance of making both applications and IPs invisible to potential attackers. By only connecting users to specific apps and continuously validating every request based on identity and context, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of breaches.
The Importance of Human Factors in Technology
In the realm of technology and cybersecurity, understanding human behavior is essential for effective system design and implementation. Margareth Cunningham emphasizes that human factors are often overlooked until the later stages of technology deployment, which can lead to unforeseen problems. Her work across various sectors, including healthcare and Homeland Security, highlights the need to prioritize the human element to enhance technology performance and safety. By fostering connections within the field and emphasizing the role of human behavior in technology, professionals can create better solutions that address both user needs and operational efficiency.
1.
Navigating Security and Human Behavior in Technology
Please enjoy this encore episode with Principal Research Scientist for Human Behavior at Forcepoint, Margaret Cunningham. She shares her story of how she landed in cybersecurity. With a background in psychology and counseling and not feeling that one-on-one counseling was her thing, Margaret had a transformational moment in her PhD program in applied experimental technology when she realized she could "provide helping services and good work services at a broader scale." Margaret found her professional footing at DHS's Human Systems Integration Branch of Science and Technology Department as the person who figured out how to measure how new technologies impacted human performance. Margaret points out that making connections and reading whatever you can is important to stay up to date in the field. She notes that her statistical analysis skills are an asset. She hopes to create champions in human behavior and performance in the world of technology. We thank Margaret for sharing her story with us.