U.S. NIST starts new Human-Centered Cybersecurity Community of Interest

Human-centered cybersecurity (also known as ‘usable security’) involves the social, organizational, and technological influences on people’s understanding of and interactions with cybersecurity. By taking a human-centered cybersecurity (HCC) approach, we can both improve people’s cybersecurity experiences and achieve better cybersecurity outcomes, which is so important in today’s digitally interconnected world. 

At NIST, we understand the value of making connections, listening, and interactivity. We also understand that researchers and practitioners want to hear directly from each other—and talk directly with each other. Since it can be difficult to make connections in the HCC space (and figure out how exactly to get involved), we realized it was time to create a Human-Centered Cybersecurity Community of Interest (COI). We are truly excited to get this long-awaited group off the ground and create a space for researchers and practitioners to interact and begin tackling human-centered cybersecurity issues together.

This new COI provides a mechanism for researchers and practitioners around the world to share information and discuss HCC topics. Researchers can also use the COI to enlist the help of practitioners in their research. This opportunity for a mutual exchange of ideas and feedback will hopefully provide practitioners with a better awareness of HCC, help researchers understand practitioner contexts, and could shape future research. This will help us all grow and learn together. 

We are excited about the launch of this COI and look forward to learning, sharing, and exploring with you soon. 

Want to learn about other COIs at NIST? 

Last year, we launched a unique Small Business COI and wrote a blog about it. We also have several COI’s at the NIST NCCoE and under the NICE program, among others, across NIST.