Visualizing cyber security: Usable workspaces

Abstract

The goal of cyber security visualization is to help analysts increase the safety and soundness of our digital infrastructures by providing effective tools and workspaces. Visualization researchers must make visual tools more usable and compelling than the text-based tools that currently dominate cyber analysts' tool chests. A cyber analytics work environment should enable multiple, simultaneous investigations and information foraging, as well as provide a solution space for organizing data. We describe our study of cyber-security professionals and visualizations in a large, high-resolution display work environment and the analytic tasks this environment can support. We articulate a set of design principles for usable cyber analytic workspaces that our studies have brought to light. Finally, we present prototypes designed to meet our guidelines and a usability evaluation of the environment.