Psyber security: a new emerging topic and research area within human security – part 1

With the rise of technology in every facet of daily life, the increased conveniences come with multiple security risks. When imagining cyber security, the focus is generally on the protection of personal information, and the technology that stores this information. However, cyber-attacks can come in multiple forms. The term psyber security refers to the subject of securing the mental health, including protection of the human psychological wellbeing from the psychiatric consequences of technology usage. With 1,473 reported cybersecurity breaches, the aftermath of these attacks extends beyond the technical repercussions. Pertaining to the human wellbeing aspect, these incidents also translate into psyber security attacks that can seriously affect the mental health by bringing about changes in the mental setup. Given that the attack surface in psyber security is primarily the human mind, this makes the impact of psyber security attacks quite significant.