Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Professor Monica Whitty is the Head of Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity and is Professor of Human Factors in Cyber Security. She has been a member of the World Economic Forum Cyber Security Centre and was a member of the WEF Cyber Security Global Futures Committee. She values a diverse and inclusive environment.
Prof Whitty's academic career began in Australia working at Macquarie University and the University of Western Sydney, before moving to the UK (2003) and then returning home to Australia (2018). In the UK she worked for universities in the Russell Group (Queen's University, Belfast; University of Warwick), and The 1994 Group Universities (University of Leicester). In Australia, she previously worked at the University of Melbourne before commencing her post at UNSW in 2020. She was the founder and the Director of the UNSW Institute for Cyber Security (IFCYBER). Professor Whitty has worked in a GCHQ accredited Cyber Security Centre in the UK at the University of Warwick and has held an honorary post at the University of Oxford at the Oxford Martin School and the Oxford Internet Institute, and an honorary Professorship at the Institute of Royal Holloway, University of London.
Monica has extensive experience in leading large interdisciplinary, international teams on funded projects. Professor Whitty has been awarded significant research funding (> $20 million AUD) and has led most of her projects. She has extensive experience in teaching at all levels and in the development of successful Masters courses.
Prof Whitty is the author of over 100 articles and 5 books. She is a leading expert on human factors in cybersecurity. She is well-known for her work on the prevention, disruption, and detection of cyber fraud, (esp. romance scams and investment scams), cyber security training, identities created in cyberspace, online security risks, behaviour in cyberspace, insider threat and mis/disinformation.
Monica's work is highly impactful - contributing to policy and tools in the UK and Australia to improve cyber security behaviours, prevent and detection cyber fraud victimisation, insider attacks, and the spread of disinformation. She has been an expert witness on > 10 cases across the globe for cyber fraud victims wrongly accused of drug trafficking and money laundering, and sentencing.
Monica has given over >50 keynotes and invited talks and is regularly interviewed by the media on matters of cyber security.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Psychology, PhD (psychology), Macquarie University
Award Date: 1 Mar 2000
Psychology, BA (Hons) Psychology, Macquarie University
Award Date: 1 Mar 1992
Research area keywords
- cybersecurity
- Fraud
- insider threat
- mis/disinformation
- deception
- persuasion
- Decision-making
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Ethical framework: Developing an Ethical Framework for using Blockchain-based Digital Credential Systems: Tackling the issue of Fake Degrees
Whitty, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Cui, H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Srivastava, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Liu, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kumar Sinha, M. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Young, G. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) (Australia)
1/11/24 → 31/10/26
Project: Research
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Enhanced Disinformation Detection
Whitty, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Doherty, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Sinnott, R. (Chief Investigator (CI))
30/12/21 → 29/12/25
Project: Research
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Building Resilience to Internal Cyber Disruption
Whitty, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Olivier, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Grobler, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Richelle, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Butavicius, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
15/06/21 → 19/06/24
Project: Research
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Human-centric cyber security: Applying protection motivation theory to analyse micro business owners’ security behaviours
Jamil, H., Zia, T., Nayeem, T., Whitty, M. T. & D'Alessandro, S., 20 Jan 2025, In: Information and Computer Security. 33, 1, p. 49-76 28 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
2 Citations (Scopus) -
An exploration of the awareness and attitudes of psychology students regarding their psychological literacy for working in the cybersecurity industry
Taylor, J. & Whitty, M., 1 Jul 2024, In: Psychology Learning and Teaching. 23, 2, p. 298–314 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus) -
Cybersecurity: Putting Indigenous Peoples First
Oliver, G., Lawrence, C., Timbery, N., Lilley, S., Rudolph, C., Whitty, M. & Saha, M., Oct 2024, Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology 2024. O'Brien, H. & Abbas, J. (eds.). 1 ed. Somerset NJ USA: John Wiley & Sons, Vol. 61. p. 616-620 5 p. (Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review
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Cybersecurity when working from home during COVID-19: considering the human factors
Whitty, M., Moustafa, N. & Globler, M., Jan 2024, In: Journal of Cybersecurity. 10, 1, p. 1-11 11 p., tyae001.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus) -
The prince of insiders: a multiple pathway approach to understanding IP theft insider attacks
Whitty, M. T., Ruddy, C., Keatley, D., Butavicius, M. & Grobler, M., 25 Sept 2024, In: Information and Computer Security. 32, 4, 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)
Press/Media
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What are ‘click frauds’ – and how can we stop them?
30/08/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Cybersecurity in the Pacific: how island nations are building their online defences.
Rudolph, C., Boorman, J. & Whitty, M.
15/06/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Blogs