Investigations are centered on bridging the gap between
perception and reality. The narrower the gap, the more likely you are to build quality intelligence, make sound judgements, and come to the correct conclusion about events that have transpired. Curiosity is what stimulates our ability to learn and close information gaps in a way that is critical for our day-to- day success as well as our career development. Simply put, security practitioners who are insatiably curious will generally be more successful than their less curious peers.
This presentation will examine curiosity in-depth so that you may better understand how it affects your daily work and broader career development. We’ll look at information gap theory and the components that constitute curiosity where security, threat intelligence, and cognitive psychology intersect. We’ll also introduce rapid gap awareness and how the sudden onset of stress from realizing what you don’t know can limit your ability to learn. Finally, we’ll present original research and the results of a study that attempts to measure and understand the development of curiosity in security and intelligence practitioners.
The presentation will tie these concepts into a series of practical takeaways you can use to stimulate your curiosity and enhance your analytical techniques. You should walk away from this talk with a greater appreciation of curiosity and with effective strategies to apply it in the right places.
Speaker Bio:
Chris Sanders (@chrissanders88), Founder, Applied Network Defense
Chris Sanders is a security instructor, author, and consultant. He is the founder of Applied Network Defense and the director of the Rural Technology Fund. He is the author of Applied Network Security Monitoring and Practical Packet Analysis. His research is focused on the intersection of cognitive psychology and security investigations.
