Cybersecurity in Organizational Practice

Cybersecurity in Organizational Practice

To register, please apply for this seminar through the central seminar assignment system.

 

Content

In this seminar, we will learn how cybersecurity is practically implemented in organizations (enterprises, public agencies, NGOs, etc.) and discuss why academic cybersecurity concepts are often not followed in practice. We will read and discuss papers on cybersecurity in organizations, frequently utilizing human-centered research methods such as interviews, surveys, focus groups, and case studies.

We will read various recent scientific publications on cybersecurity in organizational practice and foundational papers, some of which have been around for over two decades. We will discuss those papers in the seminar based on presentations by student teams. In team assignments, there will be tasks in which the viewpoint of specific organizational stakeholders (e.g., the CEO) has to be taken, and their position towards a cybersecurity strategy must be defended against other stakeholders. Throughout the seminar, we will reflect upon our own (current and future) experience with cybersecurity in organizational practice. We will learn to negotiate cybersecurity strategies with other stakeholders in our future professions.

 

Time & Location

The seminar will take place every Monday from 10:15 to 11:45.
As this seminar requires regular attendance, you can only sign up if available on ALL seminar dates.
The kick-off session will take place on April 14th at 10:15.

Location: Building E9 1, CISPA C0, Stuhlsatzenhaus 5, 66123 Saarbruecken.

 

Tasks & Grading

• Grading will be based on weekly (group) presentations, discussion participation, and two short hand-ins at the beginning and end of the seminar.
• Regular attendance is required to pass the seminar. Students may miss up to two sessions, for which they must be excused. In those cases, the students must present their results in the following session.

 

Registration & Prerequisites

All students must register using the central seminar assignment system. There are no formal prerequisites for this course. However, to succeed in this seminar, you should consider the following:

• You should be interested in perfecting your presentation skills. Throughout the seminar, you will give multiple (smaller) presentations, and we expect you to progress in your skills over time.
• You should be interested in learning to read and understand a variety of research papers, their methods, and their limitations, and you should be willing to discuss this.
• You should be interested in questioning your position and approach to cybersecurity and able to consider the perspectives of various organizational stakeholders.

• You must be interested in interdisciplinary perspectives on cybersecurity, expanding the mathematical and engineering approach to a more human-centered perspective.

   

Seminar Schedule (Tentative)

Week	Date	Time	Room	Content	Assignments/ Tasks
15	07.04.2025	-	-	No  Seminar	-
16	14.04.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Kick-Off Session	Write a one-pager about your experience with cybersecurity from your students' or employees' perspective. Due in week 17.
17	21.04.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Tutorial: How to Find and Read Scientific Papers?	TBA
18	28.04.2025	-	-	Public Holiday	-
19	05.05.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Organizational Security Research Methods	TBA
20	12.05.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Regulations, Norms, and Frameworks	TBA
21	19.05.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Various Roles in Organizational Security	TBA
22	26.05.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Human-Centered Security I	TBA
23	02.06.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Human-Centered Security II	TBA
24	09.06.2025	-	-	Public Holiday	-
25	16.06.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Economics of Information Security I	TBA
26	23.06.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Economics of Information Security II	TBA
27	30.06.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Organizational (Security) Leadership, Change Management, Communication	TBA
28	07.07.2025	10:15-11:45	TBA	Secure Software Development in Organizations	TBA
29	14.07.2024	10:15-11:45	TBA	Lessons Learned	TBA