7 key challenges for visualization in cyber network defense

What does it take to be a successful visualization in cyber security? This question has been explored for some time, resulting in many potential solutions being developed and offered to the cyber security community. However, when one reflects upon the successful visualizations in this space they are left wondering where all those offerings have gone. Excel and Grep are still the kings of cyber security defense tools; there is a great opportunity to help in this domain, yet many visualizations fall short and are not utilized. In this paper we present seven challenges, informed by two user studies, to be considered when developing a visualization for cyber security purposes. Cyber security visualizations must go beyond isolated solutions and \"pretty picture\" visualizations in order to impact users. We provide an example prototype that addresses the challenges with a description of how they are met. Our aim is to assist in increasing utility and adoption rates for visualization capabilities in cyber security.