About fifty researchers from all over the world meet in Skövde in July to participate in an international conference on the human aspect of information security. “That the conference is coming to Skövde is recognition for the research in the field which is carried out at the University,” says Marcus Nohlberg, Docent in Cyber Security at the University of Skövde.
On July 9-11, the conference Human Aspects of Information Security & Assurance, HAISA, I held in Skövde. HAISA brings together researchers from all over the world – this year around fifty researchers from four continents are participating. They will present and discuss research on the human aspects of information security.
“It is about, among other things, how we humans use technology, how organisations can work with security strategically and how we should train competence to take care of digital systems in a safe way,” says Marcus Nohlberg, Docent in Cyber Security at the University of Skövde and co-organiser of this year's conference.
Greece, Cyprus and Skövde
HAISA is one of the longest-running conferences in the field of information security, and is being held this year for the eighteenth time. Previously, it has been arranged in Kent, Great Britain, Nicosia in Cyprus and on the Greek island of Lesbos, among others.
“That the conference is coming to Skövde is recognition for the research that is carried out at the University in the HAISA area,” says Marcus Nohlberg.
“The human aspects of information security are often highlighted as decisive for the security of organisations and individuals. Year after year, various reports show that strategies and user behavior are central to building secure digital environments. Despite that, technical research and development has been in focus when it comes to security investments in Sweden. In south-west Sweden, however, for many years we have had successful research specifically on the human aspects, and it is great that it has resulted in us now hosting HAISA,” says Joakim Kävrestad, Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the School of Engineering in Jönköping.
The human aspects are crucial
Several reports from industry and research show that a large majority of all cyber incidents are due to the human factor. Incidents can arise due to strategic deficiencies where, for example, an organisation lacks insight into which assets are crucial for the organisation's daily work and how those assets are best protected. Another example is phishing, which year after year is highlighted as one of the most common methods attackers use to hack digital systems.
“The research presented at HAISA contributes to solving these problems and is of great importance for our future digital society,” says Joakim Kävrestad.
This year's edition of HAISA is organised by the University of Skövde in collaboration with the School of Engineering at Jönköping University.
