I’m still thinking generally about the same ideas, which is a good sign (I didn’t yet get bored with it).

List of topics

Here is the current list of ideas/concepts I’m looking into:

• Return of Security Investment (ROSI)
• Entropy
• Simulation & Monte Carlo
• Mathematical Modelling
• Ordinary Differential Equations & Chaos
• Numerical Methods
• Operational Research
• Graph (Network) Theory
• “Antifragility”
• Cybernetics
• Complex Systems
• the idea of information as a fundamental part of everything (It from Bit) – granted, that one is a bit more “out there”…

Critically, I don’t fully grasp ANY of the above concepts. It is my personal belief that any of those topics, separately, would in itself justify a year-long dedicated study (and then some more).
I just hope to understand enough of these, to be able to come up with something to write and study that makes sense and is (hopefully) valuable.

Applied to

The general application subject matter I’m considering, for all or part (more realistically) of the above concepts, can be summarised by the following generic line:

Decision Support for Cybersecurity investments, SOC, Threat Intel & IR, and the impact of “context” availability thereof.

Context there was initially mostly CMDB, but that was first too strict (rigid, complex maintenance), and second, limited: Context of the internal assets (contacts, software, configuration, costs…) is only part of the context in Cybersecurity, the other part being “external” context, I.e. attack vectors, motivations, etc.

Conclusion

Thank Goodness, I have about 1.8 years in front of me to make my mind (and write a valid, hopefully interesting (at least to myself) paper about the above). It’s good I decided to spread the master over 3 years: not only do I have time for both work and studying…  I also get more time to mature things in my head. Not too bad, as this thing still sometimes wakes me up at night with questions and ideas popping randomly in my head.