Cultivating Inclusivity: A Journey Towards Democratizing Cybersecurity Education

In today’s increasingly digital landscape, organizations and institutions are tasked with carrying out an array of risk-based activities, such as threat modeling, risk assessment, and microdata publishing. At the heart of these efforts lies the critical yet under-discussed skill of risk calculation in cybersecurity. This research aims to bridge the skill gap in cybersecurity and make the field more inclusive by exploring alternative mathematical approaches to risk calculation. We examine the applicability of Bayesian probability and set theory in portraying core cybersecurity concepts: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Authentication (CIA). Our work introduces a design study that leverages these mathematical fields to offer an accessible and intuitive alternative to traditional definition-based cybersecurity education. To enhance engagement and comprehension, we have also developed an interactive, browser-based dashboard that visually represents the CIA concepts in the context of risk assessment. This student-centric tool aspires to democratize cybersecurity learning by lowering mathematical barriers, making the field more accessible to a broader, more diverse audience.