Don't Tell Me The Cybersecurity Moon Is Shining... (Cybersecurity Show And Tell)

TL;DR

This paper advocates for combining showing and telling in cybersecurity communication, emphasizing visual storytelling and artworks to effectively explain complex scientific and mathematical ideas.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for integrating visual storytelling with traditional explanations to enhance understanding of cybersecurity concepts.

Findings

Using artworks can improve comprehension of cybersecurity ideas.

Combining showing and telling enhances scientific communication.

Four categories of artworks aid in explaining complex notions.

Abstract

"Show, don't tell" has become the literary commandment for any writer. It applies to all forms of fiction, and to non-fiction, including scientific writing, where it lies at the heart of many scientific communication and storytelling approaches. In this paper, I discuss how "show \emph{and} tell" is actually often the best approach when one wants to present, teach or explain complicated ideas such as those underlying notions and results in mathematics and science, and in particular in cybersecurity. I discuss how different kinds of artworks can be used to explain cybersecurity and I illustrate how telling (i.e., explaining notions in a formal, technical way) can be paired with showing through visual storytelling or other forms of storytelling. I also discuss four categories of artworks and the explanations they help provide.