One of the UK’s leading research-intensive universities has selected the second edition of The Psychology of Information Security to be included in their flagship Information Security programme as part of their ongoing collaboration with industry professionals.
“We incorporated The Psychology of Information Security into our MSc in Information Security, where it has become part of the essential reading for the Human Aspects of Security and Privacy module. Over time, it has proven to be a valuable anchor text within the curriculum, helping to frame discussions around the human dimensions of cybersecurity in a structured and coherent way.
Students consistently appreciate the perspectives it offers, particularly its ability to bridge academic research with real-world industry practice. It not only provides a clear roadmap through a complex and wide-ranging topic, but also encourages a broad understanding of the psychological principles underpinning everyday security challenges.”
Dr Konstantinos Mersinas, PhD, CISSP
Associate Professor, Information Security Group, Royal Holloway, University of London
Visiting Professor, Keio University Tokyo, Japan 特別 招聘 准教授 慶応 大学 東京 日本
Director of Distance Learning MSc Programme in Information Security
Vice Chair, INCS-CoE (International Cyber Security Center of Excellence)
Excited that my book just hit #1 on Amazon’s bestseller list. Thank you to everyone who read, recommended, reviewed and supported this project – I couldn’t have done it without you. If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear what resonated most.
If you haven’t read it – it’s currently on offer in some Amazon stores, so get your 23% discount while you can!
And yes – it’s technically #1 in the very specific category, which is slightly amusing… I suspect it’s a hit with late-night cyber security enthusiasts rather than beach readers!
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the book signing. It was a pleasure to meet readers and hear your thoughts. If you missed it, you can still get the book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0fai5zyh
Security failures are rarely a technology problem alone. They’re socio-technical failures: mismatches between how controls are designed and how people actually work under pressure. If you want resilient organisations, start by redesigning security so it fits human cognition, incentives and workflows. Then measure and improve it.
Think like a behavioural engineer
Apply simple behavioural-science tools to reduce errors and increase adoption:
Defaults beat persuasion. Make the secure choice the path of least resistance: automatic updates, default multi-factor authentication, managed device profiles, single sign-on with conditional access. Defaults change behaviour at scale without relying on willpower.
Reduce friction where it matters. Map high-risk workflows (sales demos, incident response, customer support) and remove unnecessary steps that push people toward risky workarounds (like using unapproved software). Where friction is unavoidable, provide fast, well-documented alternatives.
Nudge, don’t nag. Use contextual micro-prompts (like in-app reminders) at the moment of decision rather than one-off training. Framing matters: emphasise how a control helps the person do their job, not just what it prevents.
Commitment and incentives. Encourage teams to publicly adopt small security commitments (e.g. “we report suspicious emails”) and recognise them. Social proof is powerful – people emulate peers more than policies.
Build trust, not fear
A reporting culture requires psychological safety.
Adopt blameless post-incident reviews for honest mistakes; separate malice investigations from learning reviews.
Be transparent: explain why rules exist, how they are enforced and what happens after a report.
Lead by example: executives and managers must follow the rules visibly. Norms are set from the top.
Practical programme components
Security champion network. One trained representative per team. Responsibilities: localising guidance, triaging near-misses and feeding back usability problems to the security team.
Lightweight feedback loops. Short surveys, near-miss logs and regular champion roundtables to capture usability issues and unearth workarounds.
Measure what matters. Track metrics tied to risk and behaviour.
Metrics that inform action (not vanity)
Stop counting clicks and start tracking signals that show cultural change and risk reduction:
Reporting latency: median time from detection to report. Increasing latency can indicate reduced psychological safety (fear of blame), friction in the reporting path (hard-to-find button) or gaps in frontline detection capability. A drop in latency after a campaign usually signals improved awareness or lowered friction.
Always interpret in context: rising near-miss reports with falling latency can be positive (visibility improving). Review volume and type alongside latency before deciding.
Inquiries rate: median number of proactive security inquiries (help requests, pre-deployment checks, risk questions). An increase usually signals growing trust and willingness to engage with security; a sustained fall may indicate rising friction, unresponsiveness or fear.
If rate rises sharply with no matching incident reduction, validate whether confusion is driving questions (update docs) or whether new features need security approvals (streamline process).
Confidence and impact: employees’ reported confidence to perform required security tasks (backups, secure file sharing, suspicious email reporting) and their belief that those actions produce practical organisational outcomes (risk reduction, follow-up action, leadership support).
An increase may signal stronger capability and perceived efficacy of security actions. While a decrease indicates skills gaps, tooling or access friction or perception that actions don’t lead to change.
Metrics should prompt decisions (e.g., simplify guidance if dwell time on key security pages is low, fund an automated patching project if mean time to remediate is unacceptable), not decorate slide decks.
Experiment, measure, repeat
Treat culture change like product development: hypothesis → experiment → measure → adjust. Run small pilots (one business unit, one workflow), measure impact on behaviour and operational outcomes, then scale the successful patterns.
Things you can try this month
Map 3 high-risk workflows and design safer fast paths.
Stand up a security champion pilot in two teams.
Change one reporting process to be blameless and measure reporting latency.
Implement or verify secure defaults for identity and patching.
Define 3 meaningful metrics and publish baseline values.
When security becomes the way people naturally work, supported by defaults, fast safe paths and a culture that rewards reporting and improvement, it stops being an obstacle and becomes an enabler. That’s the real return on investment: fewer crises, faster recovery and the confidence to innovate securely.
If you’d like to learn more, check out the second edition of The Psychology of Information Security for more practical guidance on building a positive security culture.
In cybersecurity, collaboration is essential. With growing complexity in the threat landscape, leaders often find themselves working with parties they may not fully align with—whether internal teams, external stakeholders, or even rival firms.
Adam Kahane’s book Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust outlines principles for collaborating effectively, especially in challenging environments where trust and agreement are minimal. Kahane’s “stretch collaboration” approach can transform the way cybersecurity leaders address conflicts and turn rivals into partners to meet critical security goals. In this blog, I’ll share my key takeaways.
In this 15 minute interview I spoke with Ed Kennedy of CSO Australia, reflecting on Australian cyber security incidents of 2022, leadership and my approach and insights to cyber security at Linkly.
I’ve been invited to to share my thoughts on human-centric security at the Macquarie University Cyber Security Industry Workshop.
Drawing on insights from The Psychology of Information Security and my experience in the field, I outlined some of the reasons for friction between security and business productivity and suggested a practical approach to a building a better security culture in organisations.
It was great to be able to contribute to the collaboration between the industry, government and academia on this topic.
Managing change and improving security culture should start with understanding the organisation, the people in it and what drives them.
In the case of cyber security, this begins with understanding why current security practices might not be effective and why people often find workarounds rather than follow security processes.
I’ve been asked to sign a large order of my book The Psychology of Information Security and hope that people who receive a copy will appreciate the personal touch!
I wrote this book to help security professionals and people who are interested in a career in cyber security to do their job better. Not only do we need to help manage cyber security risks, but also communicate effectively in order to be successful. To achieve this, I suggest starting by understanding the wider organisational context of what we are protecting and why.
Communicating often and across functions is essential when developing and implementing a security programme to mitigate identified risks. In the book, I discuss how to engage with colleagues to factor in their experiences and insights to shape security mechanisms around their daily roles and responsibilities. I also recommend orienting security education activities towards the goals and values of individual team members, as well as the values of the organisation.
I also warn against imposing too much security on the business. At the end of the day, the company needs to achieve its business objectives and innovate, albeit securely. The aim should be to educate people about security risks and help colleagues make the right decisions, showing that security is not only important to keep the company afloat or meet a compliance requirement but that it can also be a business enabler. This helps demonstrate to the Board that security contributes to the overall success of the organisation by elevating trust and amplifying the brand message, which in turn leads to happier customers.
Cyber Security Leadership 