Dr. Arun Vishwanath

I Dr. Arun Vishwanath study the “people problem” of cyber security.

My current research focuses on improving individual, organizational, and national resilience to cyber attacks by focusing on the weakest links in cyber security—all of us Internet users. My interest is in understanding why organizational insiders willingly exfiltrate sensitive organizational data; why people become unintentional insiders by falling prey to social engineering attacks that come-in through email and social media; and on ways we can harness this understanding to secure cyber space. I also examine how various groups–-criminal syndicates, terrorist networks, hacktivists–-utilize cyber space to commit crime, spread mis-information, recruit operatives, and radicalize others.

My research on improving cyber resilience against online social engineering has been funded by the National Science Foundation. I have written and published over four-dozen articles on technology users and cyber security issues and my research has been presented to principals at national security and law enforcement agencies around the world. My research has also been featured on CNN, USA Today, Politico, and other national and international news outlets.