Conceptual Model of Visual Analytics for Hands-on Cybersecurity Training
This work addresses the need for improved training tools in cybersecurity education, but it is incremental as it builds on existing visual analytics concepts without introducing a new paradigm.
The paper tackles the challenge of designing and evaluating hands-on cybersecurity training by proposing a conceptual model that applies visual analytics principles to support user sensemaking across training phases, demonstrating its application on two types of cybersecurity training programs.
Hands-on training is an effective way to practice theoretical cybersecurity concepts and increase participants' skills. In this paper, we discuss the application of visual analytics principles to the design, execution, and evaluation of training sessions. We propose a conceptual model employing visual analytics that supports the sensemaking activities of users involved in various phases of the training life cycle. The model emerged from our long-term experience in designing and organizing diverse hands-on cybersecurity training sessions. It provides a classification of visualizations and can be used as a framework for developing novel visualization tools supporting phases of the training life-cycle. We demonstrate the model application on examples covering two types of cybersecurity training programs.