Cyberpsychology at Kaspersky Lab

Input alone, however, does not make a PR campaign. This was the case, for example, when a study commissioned by Kaspersky Lab and carried out by the Institute for Media Psychology at Würzburg University came across our desks. From a scientific perspective, it was a very interesting study, but our task focused on implementing the results as a PR campaign, and ensuring, as far as possible, that it worked throughout Europe.

Human behaviour plays a critical role

Why, despite all the warnings, do users persist in clicking on corrupted attachments or harmful links? Cyberpsychology can provide the answers. We will focus on four specific topics:

• Media Equation is the specialist term for our tendency to anthropomorphise user technologies.
• In Gaming, we examine users’ heedless behaviour when playing games.
• In Social Engineering, we discover how cybercriminals use psychological tricks to fool users.
• Finally, in Gender Differences, we ask ourselves whether there are any gender-specific cyberpsychological differences.

Thought-provoking questions were assigned to these topics. These questions were designed to promote discussion, and included such questions as, “Are you having a secret affair with your smartphone?” or “Has someone hacked your heart?” The package included a general article on the subject of cyberpsychology and a short teaser (What is Cyberpsychology? Why Kaspersky Lab?), as well as appropriate graphics and images. We also collaborated with artist Wolfang Steinmeyer to create an appropriate caricature for each of the four topics. Each topic features its own press release, infographic and caricature.

Social Media Landing Page

The core of the campaign is, however, the “Cyberpsychology” media landing page. Here, journalists will find specialized digital assets, including press releases, infographics and caricatures, as well as generic content, including technical text and images. The webpage is very flexibly designed, allowing details of any further cyberpsychological studies commissioned by Kaspersky Lab from the experts at Würzburg University to be added at a later date. The page was also technically implemented in English by our partner auctores, allowing additional language versions to be added as needed.

Media Resonance, Long-Term Expert Positioning, SEO Optimization

In addition to wide-coverage press releases, such as those in the Süddeutsche Zeitung (print edition) and online, as well as in Bild and Focus, Kaspersky Lab’s staff are considered medium- and long-term experts in matters of IT security and cyberpsychology. In organic Google searches, the landing page tops the rankings (as of April 2015), with the article itself appearing in fourth place. Exclusive content, prepared appropriately for the media, is popular with both Google and readers.