Abstract
Educational settings pose a realistic environment for cyberattacks to manifest into a physical/kinetic attack. This research in progress work seeks to draw from existing literature and prior attack methods to begin building a taxonomy to better understand indications and warnings that would assist cyberterrorist threat hunters in proactively monitoring and protecting digital and physical environments in a higher education setting. This research will utilize data collected from an operational student Security Operations Center (sSOC) at a Midwest university to understand warning signs for threats in cyberspace that could manifest into terroristic activity. The results of the research would provide cybersecurity teams in higher education settings mechanisms to recognize indications and warnings more rapidly to protect digital and physical spaces more effectively. This study will support schools and other higher education institutions in further developing their ability to detect and react to cyberattacks that escalate from cyberspace into kinetic attacks.
Recommended Citation
House, Deanna; Black, Michelle; and Sengar, Sushmita, "Cyberterrorist Threat Hunting: Creating a Cyber-Physical Taxonomy in Higher Education Contexts" (2025). WISP 2025 Proceedings. 31.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/wisp2025/31