Network analysts have long used two-dimensional security visualizations to make sense of network data. As networks grow larger and more complex, two-dimensional visualizations become more convoluted, potentially compromising user situational awareness of cyber threats. To combat this problem, augmented reality (AR) can be employed to visualize data within a cyber-physical context to restore user perception and improve comprehension; thereby, enhancing cyber situational awareness. Multiple generations of prototypes, known collectively as Mobile Augmented Reality for Cyber Security, or MARCS, were developed to study the impact of AR on cyber situational awareness. First generation prototypes were subjected to a formative pilot study of 44 participants, to generate user-centric performance data and feedback, which motivated the design and development of second generation prototypes and provided initial insight into the potentially beneficial impact of AR on cyber situational awareness. Second generation prototypes were subjected to a summative secondary study by 50 participants, to compare the impact of AR and non-AR visualizations on cyber situational awareness. Results of the secondary study suggest that employing AR to visualize cyber threats in a cyber-physical context collectively improves user threat perception and comprehension, indicating that, in some cases, AR security visualizations improve user cyber situational awareness over non-AR security visualizations. / Master of Science / Augmented Reality can be a powerful medium with which to communicate visual information to human beings. By overlaying digital projections on the visual world, augmented reality can leverage the context of the natural world to intuitively communicate information to people who may not have an innate understanding of the underlying data. Mobile augmented reality for cybersecurity (MARCS) visualizes cybersecurity information using augmented reality to give users a unique perspective of cybersecurity information. Experimentation yielded quantitative and qualitative data that suggest that MARCS positively impacted user awareness of cybersecurity data implicating augmented reality as a viable visualization strategy for cyber and network security data.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/78220 |
| Date | 19 June 2017 |
| Creators | Mattina, Brendan Casey |
| Contributors | Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tront, Joseph G., Marchany, Randolph C., Raymond, David Richard, North, Christopher L. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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