The Problem

Phishing Attempts

According to the Americans Advisors Group IT department, an estimated 3.4 billion phishing emails are pushed out daily and it is no surprise that many people fall into these attacks. Approximately 90% of malicious attacks stem from successful phishing attempts. Despite advancements in technology and security measures, humans remain the weakest link in information technology.

Human Element

Cyber Spyder aims to address the vulnerability of human nature and trust. Whether it is a busy employee going through their inbox or a curious individual clicking on alluring links, the human element in decision-making plays a crucial role in phishing campaigns. To many of our most vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, the too-trusting, or the uneducated, this scam is a trap that, when sprung, bleeds money and sows distrust in the minds of our audience.

Consequences

Falling victim to one of these phishing attempts leads to individuals losing a sense of security over their mailing systems or devices, or the loss of financial assets through well-planned and executed phishing scams. The pain and distrust this causes is what we are trying to fix in the electronic world. Virtually every individual and organization that relies on email for communication is a potential customer that can benefit from Cyber Spyder.

The Design Thinking Process

In our design process, we began by conducting surveys and research, employing radical collaboration to generate ideas. Many of our interviewees voiced the challenges with existing cybersecurity practices and their current limited understanding. In response, we adopted an empathetic and human-centered approach to develop a solution that can be easily used for all experience types.

Building Empathy

Many of the individuals we interviewed, including college students, family, and the elderly, conveyed a sense of irritation when it comes to cybersecurity. They feel as if their actions have minimal impact on their security, and that the actions they have to take are tedious at best. With this in mind, we set off to think of solutions that do not rely on the user's interaction with our software - anything we must do we must do automatically. We also took into account the lack of security education that prompted individuals to feel as if their actions have minimal impact and we landed on the realization that people need to be educated in a quick, concise, and educational manner. This prompted us to create a software solution that would automate security solutions for our users and provide educative feedback to them to help them understand what it is accomplishing for them.

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