The protoscience of cybersecurity

Abstract

I argue that marking a proper distinction between two types of research in the cybersecurity field obviates the present debate concerning a “science of cybersecurity.” Once the terminology has been properly disambiguated, the accurate descriptor for the current state of the practice of cybersecurity becomes apparent: it is a protoscience. Further, once a definition for ‘science’ is specified, it becomes clear that the protoscientific state is capable of trending in the proper direction, namely toward science and away from pseudoscience.