iSchool Associate Dean Jeffrey Stanton contributes to Senate forum report on information security

iSchool Associate Dean Jeffrey Stanton contributes to Senate forum report on information securityMarch 10, 2009Margaret Costello Spillettmcostell@syr.edu

Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) Associate Dean for Research and Doctoral Programs Jeffrey Stanton participated recently in the Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection (I3P) series of three forums co-chaired by U.S. Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins, chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The forums focused on identifying cyber security research and development priorities for the new administration from the perspective of both private and public sectors.

Based on the discussions of Stanton and 91 other participants from industry, government and academia, I3P recently issued a 30-page report, “National Cyber Security Research and Development Challenges Related to Economics, Physical Infrastructure, and Human Behavior.” The report examined the cyber security challenges facing the economic, physical and human infrastructures, and asserted that cyber security needs to be a national priority. The report laid out four core themes:

• A coordinated and collaborative approach and system of information sharing needs to be instituted.
• Measuring the security of a system or process is necessary, and metrics to assess security need to be developed.
• A national (and international) strategy for cyber security requires an effective legal and policy framework.
• The human dimension of security must be considered and addressed.

“There is no doubt that cyber security has become an area of critical importance for the public and private sectors in this time of economic competitiveness and increased network intrusions,” Lieberman says. “I3P has made a valuable contribution to the debate and identified a number of areas for improvement to which we must give serious consideration. I thank them for their dedication to this topic.”

Stanton talked about employee motivation and values and how those factors relate to building a security culture within an organization during the forums. Stanton is co-author of the book “The Visible Employee: Using Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance to Protect Information Assets-Without Compromising Employee Privacy or Trust” (Information Today Inc., 2006), which provides a research-based outline for improving information security by working with employees to increase security accountability. His research focuses organizational behavior and technology, with his most recent projects examining how behavior affects information security and privacy in organizations.

Stanton holds a B.A. in computer science from Dartmouth College and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Connecticut. Stanton is founder and director of the StudyResponse Project that facilitates online research for behavioral, social and organizational science researchers by distributing e-mail participation requests to adult research participants. He has published more than 60 scholarly articles in top peer-reviewed behavioral science journals, such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology and Human Performance.