This article, by Pete Cooper, examines the ongoing struggle between cyber defenders and their adversaries, arguing that despite record investment in cybersecurity, defenders are losing ground as breaches grow in number, scale, and impact. Cooper attributes this in part to adversaries' exploitation of both technical vulnerabilities and human factors within defensive systems.
The article considers the resulting calls for organizations to adopt active cyber defense measures, noting that such measures are controversial and tend to be oriented toward the adversary rather than toward the human elements of defense. Cooper's broader project, reflected in the title, is to explore how a more cognitive, human-focused approach to active defense, one that works by "hacking human nature" rather than only systems, might offer value that adversary-focused active measures do not.