Cognitive and Organizational Challenges of Big Data in Cyber Defense

The cognitive and organizational challenges associated with `Big Data' have not received much research attention. We have begun an interview study of analysts who work in the computer network (cyber) defense (CND) area and have experienced changes in data scale affecting their analytical work. Our goal is to understand any changes in analysts' mental models of their data and their domain. We used a qualitative inquiry method, starting with relatively open-ended questions. Our interview protocol also asked analysts to describe critical incidents related to data use, and probed for previously-identified cognitive biases that may affect analysis in this domain.