Behaviour experts aid security plan

Knowledge transfer network is looking for experts to publish white paper

The Cyber Security Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is to employ human behaviour experts to produce a white paper addressing IT security problems caused by human users.

The network, set up in May with £12m funding from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is managed by defence and security firm QinetiQ.

It has launched a competition to establish a ‘human factors working group’, to address concerns that more needs to be done to help users protect themselves and the UK’s critical infrastructure from cyber attacks and organised e-crime.

‘Whether applicants wanting to produce the white paper are individuals or consortiums is up to them,’ said QinetiQ’s Sadie Creese, director of the Cyber Security KTN.

‘We are expecting offers detailing who might be involved and justifying their costs.’

The working group will receive up to £50,000 in funding and outline best practice and insights from other disciplines.

Creese says criminals often employ sophisticated social engineering techniques to dupe users into releasing sensitive and valuable information or introducing viruses onto their computers and networks.

‘What we haven’t done well as a community is learn from all the other different domains that understand the intricacies of communicating with human beings, whether it’s through the interface of machines or simply within communities,’ she said.

The white paper will be produced early next year detailing the approaches that will have the greatest potential practical application and impact, and then placed into the public domain by the KTN.

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