If Cybersecurity Was… Pizza? A Visual and Rhetorical Approach to Exploring the Concept of Cybersecurity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Understanding and defining cybersecurity‐related concepts for the general public can often prove challenging due to their inherent complexity; consequently, visual imaginary emerges as an effective device for articulating and elucidating these abstract ideas. In this study, we leveraged an adapted version of the existing iSquare approach to explore people's understanding of cybersecurity. We collected 499 iSquares from a broad‐spectrum backgrounds of participants attending a prominent international cybersecurity exhibition in Taiwan. Our preliminary findings revealed that metaphors of physical security and warfare were the most frequently employed in participants' conceptualizations of cybersecurity. Participants' work roles were also observed to influence their respective attitudes and perspectives as expressed in their pictorial representations of cybersecurity.