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Mental Model Mapping Method for Cybersecurity

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Visualizations can enhance the efficiency of Cyber Defense Analysts, Cyber Defense Incident Responders and Network Operations Specialists (Sub-ject Matter Experts, SME) by providing contextual information for various cy-bersecurity-related datasets and data sources. We propose that customized, stere-oscopic 3D visualizations, aligned with SMEs internalized representations of their data, may enhance their capability to understand the state of their systems in ways that flat displays with either text, 2D or 3D visualizations cannot afford. For these visualizations to be useful and efficient, we need to align these to SMEs internalized understanding of their data. In this paper we propose a method for interviewing SMEs to extract their implicit and explicit understanding of the data that they work with, to create useful, interactive, stereoscopically perceivable visualizations that would assist them with their tasks.
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Mental Model Mapping Method for Cybersecurity
Kaur Kullman1, Laurin Buchanan2, Anita Komlodi3, Don Engel3
1 Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn EE, EU
2 Secure Decisions, Northport NY, US
3 University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore MD, US
m4c@coda.ee
Abstract. Visualizations can enhance the efficiency of Cyber Defense Analysts,
Cyber Defense Incident Responders and Network Operations Specialists (Sub-
ject Matter Experts, SME) by providing contextual information for various cy-
bersecurity-related datasets and data sources. We propose that customized, stere-
oscopic 3D visualizations, aligned with SMEs internalized representations of
their data, may enhance their capability to understand the state of their systems
in ways that flat displays with either text, 2D or 3D visualizations cannot afford.
For these visualizations to be useful and efficient, we need to align these to SMEs
internalized understanding of their data. In this paper we propose a method for
interviewing SMEs to extract their implicit and explicit understanding of the data
that they work with, to create useful, interactive, stereoscopically perceivable
visualizations that would assist them with their tasks.
Keywords: Visualization design and evaluation methods, Cybersecurity, Data
Visualization.
1 Introduction
Cybersecurity visualizations provide Cyber Defense Analysts
1
, Cyber Defense Incident
Responders
2
and Network Operations Specialists
3
(all three roles will collectively be
referred to as Subject Matter Expert (SME) in this paper from here forward) with visual
representation of alphanumeric data that would otherwise be difficult to comprehend
due to its large volume. Such visualizations aim to efficiently support tasks including
detecting, monitoring and mitigating cyberattacks in a timely and efficient manner. For
more information about these and other cybersecurity related roles, see [1]. As noted in
[2], cybersecurity-specific visualizations can be broadly classified into a) network anal-
ysis, b) malware analysis, c) threat analysis and situational awareness. Timely and ef-
ficient execution of tasks in each of these categories may require different types of
visualizations addressed by a growing number of cybersecurity-specific visualization
tools (for examples and descriptions of such see [3], [5] and [6]) as well as universal
1
As designated PR-CDA-001 and bearing responsibilities for tasks identified in [18]
2
As designated PR-CIR-001 and bearing responsibilities for tasks identified in [18]
3
As designated OM-NET-001 and bearing responsibilities for tasks identified in [18]
2
software with visualization capabilities. These tools could be used to visualize data in
myriad ways (for examples and descriptions of such see [7]) so that SMEs could ex-
plore their data visually and interactively (for interaction techniques see [8]). These are
crucial qualities for SMEs, with emphasis on the importance of the low latency between
SME’s request for a change in visualization (change in applied filter, time window or
other query parameters) and rendering of the visualized response from the system [9].
The challenge in creating meaningful visual tools for cybersecurity practitioners is
in combining the expertise from specialists from the fields of data visualization and
cybersecurity so that the resulting visualizations are effective and indeed useful for their
intended users [10]. Further, creating visualizations useful for SMEs is not possible
without an in-depth understanding of the tasks which the visualizations will support
[11]. Hence, we describe here a multi-part, semi-structured interviewing method for
extracting from an individual SME their internalized understanding of the dataset
4
that
represents their protected environment, in order to create visualizations that align with
their own understanding of that dataset and that will enhance the SMEs and their col-
leagues’ ability to understand and work with that dataset.
The proposed interview method is rooted in the tradition of participatory design [12],
a democratic form of design originating in Scandinavia. In participatory design all
stakeholders are involved in the design by directly designing the user experience. Stake-
holders are asked to not simply inform the design process but to contribute by actually
designing interfaces and interactions.
2 Background
Although there are other design approaches for developing data visualizations [13], we
identified the need for a cybersecurity specific method that would allow SMEs to create
spatial three-dimensional layouts of visualized elements, referred to as data-shapes, that
are specific to these SMEs datasets or data sources, in order to benefit from the novel
capabilities of Virtual and Mixed Reality headsets that can provide users with stereo-
scopic perception of the data visualization environment.
We acknowledge that the efficiency of 3D data visualization has been subject to
controversy (as thoroughly explained in [14]) and that the usability of visualizations
overall are hindered by biological factors of the user (e.g. impaired color vision, im-
paired vison): these and other concerns were covered in an earlier papers of our project
[15] and [4]. Despite that, for the users who can use and who do find 3D visualizations
useful, we should provide methods they can use to create, and suitable technical tools
to use useful visualization of their data. Other research [16] has previously shown that
stereoscopically perceived, spatialized data visualizations may provide advantages for
understanding and exploring the types of multidimensional (often partially determinis-
tic) datasets and sources that SMEs work with.
4
In the context of this paper, “dataset” refers to the collection of individual data sources, e.g.,
network flow data, log files, PCAP, databases and other stores (Elasticsearch, Mongo, RDB-
s,) used by an SME at a particular organization.
3
The Virtual Data Explorer (VDE) software that may be employed for visualizing
cybersecurity specific datasets was covered in previous research [15] and [4]. For a
data-shape or their constellations to be useful, the SME must be able to readily map
data into a data-shape and choose visual encoding for its attributes so that the resulting
visualization will enhance their understanding of that data. Only once an SME is inti-
mate with the composition of the visualization and its relation to the underlying dataset
or source can the SME use that visualization to extract information from it.
In this paper we describe a mental model mapping method that may be used to ex-
tract the necessary information for creating such data-shapes from SMEs while they’re
working with their actual data. To validate the usefulness of the new visualizations
created with this method, it would be beneficial to involve at least three SMEs from the
same group or company who are working with the same data so that the visualizations
created with each participant could be evaluated at the end of the process with other
members of the same group.
Visualization examples in this paper are showing NATO CCDCOE Locked Shields
CDX networks traffic dataset [4], Figures feature screen captures from VDE Virtual
Reality sessions.
2.1 Assumptions
The following assumptions underlie our work:
Assumption 1: Visualizations of different dimensions of network topology (func-
tional, logical, geographic) using stereoscopically perceivable 3D can enhance an
SME’s understanding of their unique protected network environment if the visualiza-
tions are designed to match the individual SMEs mental model(s) of their environ-
ment’s raw cyber data.
Assumption 2: It is possible to create data-shapes by interviewing SMEs in order to
identify hierarchies of entities and entity
5
groups in their data that, when grouped by
their functions, could be arranged into a 3D topology.
2.2 Hypotheses
We hypothesize that enriching the 3D data-shapes with additional contextual infor-
mation that is derived from the queries that SMEs typically execute to find all relevant
information to their data-focused tasks could be of benefit, specifically:
1. 3D data-shapes enriched with contextual information will provide significant in-
sights more effectively in comparison with alphanumerical sources and/or 2D visu-
alizations on flat screens.
2. 3D data-shapes enriched with contextual information will improve the efficiency of
operators’ workflow, e.g., seeking answers to their analytical questions.
5
“Entity” refers to any atomic unit that the user could encounter in the data that’s being investi-
gated. In the context of this paper for example: a networked computer, IoT device, server,
switch, but also a human actor (known user, malicious actor, administrator).
4
3 Process
The overarching goal of the SME interview process is to identify the properties that an
SME seeks within the raw cyber data of their environment, i.e., their dataset, in order
to obtain answers to the analytic questions for their work role. To do this, we must
identify the relevant attributes of the data which enable the SME to form, verify, or
disprove hypotheses about possible incidents or noteworthy events relevant to their
work role. Based on the SME’s role and specific inquiry goal, we determine the desired
dimensions of data (entities, the relations of groups, subgroups, and sub-subgroups,
etc.) to be visualized. We then consider which properties should be represented by
which elements; an example of these dimensions and properties can be seen in Figure
1, where names of groups (e.g. “..Siemens Spectrum 5 power management..”, “Substa-
tion equipment network”) are visible above the “blades” of a data-shape, while names
of subgroups (inside each group) (e.g. “Windows 10 workstations”, “PLC-s”, “Serv-
ers”) are visible inside the “blades”, above the entities of that subgroup. To better grasp
the three-dimensionality of these shapes, see videos at https://coda.ee/M4C.
Fig. 1. Examining relationships and behavior of the entities of a group of groups.
This information is initially elicited through the first individual interviews with the
SME group (Session 1 Interviews) by asking a series of specific questions designed to
identify these groups and entities. In our example case, visualizing the functional to-
pologies of computer networks, the entities are networked devices (server, laptop,
fridge, gas turbine’s controller, etc.) that can be classified into multiple, different
groups (e.g., logical subnetwork, physical topology, geolocation, etc.). The relevant
grouping (i.e., business functions, found vulnerabilities, etc.) depends on the goal of an
SME’s inquiry. If the visualization goal was different, for example, to visualize appli-
cation logs, the initial interview questions should be adjusted accordingly.
5
Once all the first interviews have been completed, we evaluate the layouts created
during the interviews (see 3.3). All or some of the layouts will be implemented using
VDE (as described in [4]), either by creating new configuration files or implementing
necessary components in C# (or with another visualization tool). Once done, the result-
ing data visualizations shall be tested with the data that the interviewed SMEs would
be using it with (or an anonymized version of it), prior to a second round of SME in-
terviews.
During Session 2 interviews, subjects are expected to use the custom visualizations
with a VDE instance, that is rendering the data-shapes from actual data from the SME’s
environment to enable the SME to adequately evaluate the usefulness of the visualiza-
tion.
3.1 Prescreening questionnaire
Participants should be pre-screened to verify their level of expertise and work roles to
the participant pool. In our example case, SMEs working subject matter (e.g., computer
network activity data) for at least a year with the specific dataset of their protected
network environment (e.g., flow data, captured packets, Intrusion Detection System
logs, logs of endpoints and servers, vulnerability scan reports, etc.,) may be invited to
participate in the study.
3.2 Session 1 Interviews.
In the beginning of each session, the interviewer explains the purpose behind the
knowledge elicitation and asks the SME for written permission to record audio and
video during the session. The interviewer then conducts a semi-structured interview
using guiding questions to learn the SME’s understanding of the norms, behaviors,
structure, context etc. of the available dataset (e.g., their computer network’s topology,
logfiles, etc.). In cases where the tasks or roles of the group being studied are different
than described in this paper, the questions should be adjusted accordingly.
To gather actionable information from an interview, it is imperative that the inter-
viewer quickly builds rapport with the SME to a level, that allows them to validate the
level of subject matter competence of the interviewer [17]. If the interviewee, a sea-
soned SME, determines that the interviewer does not have a strong understanding of
the related tasks, data, or concerns, they may choose to skip through the interview with
minimal effort, rendering the efficiency and usefulness of the resulting visualization
negligible.
Throughout the interview, equipment to support and capture the SME’s participation
in the design process must be available. Equipment could include a whiteboard, large
sheets of paper with colored pens, LEGO sets, a computer with access to the datasets
the SME could refer to, or other tools, that would help and encourage the SME to ex-
press their perception of the structure of the data in three-dimensional space. With
LEGO sets, for example, they could lay out the structure of groups on the table and
build them vertically, to a limit. With whiteboard SME could sketch the possible visu-
alizations, while the interviewer may need to help with capturing its dimensionality.
6
The questions below are examples for how to enable the SME to think through their
knowledge of the targeted data and lay out the groups. Not only should these questions
be adjusted for the specifics of the role of the person and data source or data set, but
also to the personality of the SME. The interviewer may need to adjust or rearrange the
sequence of the questions based on the responsiveness of the SME.
Question 1: What are the primary everyday tasks that require you to use large
data sources (datasets, data collections)?
The intent of this question is to build rapport with the SME, while finding out the spe-
cific role of the interviewee and the data that the interview should focus on. To help the
SME articulate their tasks, a list of tasks from the Reference Spreadsheet for the NICE
Framework [18] (respectively for PR-CDA-001, PR-CIR-001 and OM-NET-001 or
others) could be shown to the interviewee. Depending on the tasks identified, inter-
viewer could then choose which one(s) of the data source(s) relevant to the tasks to
focus on.
Question 2: What groups of networked entities participate in your computer net-
works?
The intent of this question is to identify the nested groups of additional groups and
entities (in the data source that was identified in Q1) that could be laid out spatially. If
the interviewee can’t name any such groups spontaneously, the interviewer may sug-
gest the following examples:
1. Physical entities, e.g., users, administrators, guests, known external actors (including
intruders).
2. Endpoints, e.g., user workstations and laptops.
3. Network infrastructure devices, e.g., switches, routers.
4. Virtual or physical networked services, e.g., Active Directory Domain Controller, a
file server, databases, network security services (DLP, SIEM, traffic collectors, etc.),
as well as physical computers running the virtualized containers, containing the of-
fered services.
5. Special purpose equipment, e.g., physical access control, Industrial Control Systems.
6. External partners’ services inside or outside the perimeter.
7. Unknown entities.
7
Fig. 2. Closeup of an example of triples arranged in a cube shape.
Question 3: What subgroups [and further subgroups] could there be within those
groups?
The intent of this question is to help the interviewee to consider different ways of think-
ing about the dimensions of data and choose the better candidates to be represented by
the three axes in a 3D visualization, and the relative positioning of these groups.
See Figure 2, where entities positions on XYZ axes are determined by:
Z) the group this entity belongs to (a subnet).
Y) subgroup (a functional group in that subnet: servers, networks devices, work-
stations).
X) entity’s sequential (arbitrary) position in in that subgroup (for example the last
octet of its IP address).
Question 4: How would you decide to which group an entity belongs, based on its
behavior?
The intent of this question is to understand how to build the decision process for the
VDE (or other visualization interface) that determines where and how to show each
entity in the visualization.
8
Question 5: While working on task X (identified in Q1), what data source do you
investigate first (second, third, etc.), and what would you be looking for in that
data?
1. What questions are you asking while building a query to find relevant data in that
data source?
2. What clauses would you use to build a query on that data source to acquire relevant
information for this question?
3. How do you determine if the result returned by the query contains benign infor-
mation or if it requires further investigation from the same or other data sources?
4. What other data sources do you consult to validate if the data is an anomaly or indi-
cator you found is interesting or benign?
5. If you’ve identified a recurring identifier, how do you implement its automatic de-
tection for the future?
6. Repeat {1 - 5} for other data sources relevant for the interviewee.
Question 6: Please group the most relevant query conditions (or categories of in-
dicators) that you use in your tasks to group the found entities into groups of three.
This question elicits triples that will then be aligned on 3 axes to create 3D data-shapes.
Examples of potential triple groupings are shown in Table 1, while Figures 1 and 2
show a 3D data-shape for an individual triple. Multiple related triples can be presented
in constellations of data-shapes, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.
The intent of this question is to find the queries that should be run to gather data for
rendering the visualization of groups identified in Question 3.
Table 1. Examples for mapping identified groups to 3D axes (triples).
axis
Example 1
(see Fig. 2)
Example 2
(combination of addressing com-
ponents)
Example 3
(private ad-
dress space)
Z
entity group
subnet (e.g., 10.0.x.0/8)
10.x.0.0/8
Y
entity subgroup
last octet of entity’s IP address
10.0.x.0/8
X
inter-subgroup sequence
active ingress / egress port nr
10.0.0.x/8
Question 7: Please arrange triples (see examples in Table 1) into a relational struc-
ture on the whiteboard.
The intent of this question is to encourage the SME to reimagine (and redraw if needed)
the groups and their arrangement into subgroups so that instead of just 3x3 relations,
triples would be positioned spatially into a stereoscopically perceivable constellation
9
data-shape (see Figure 3), adding additional dimensions for potential additional data
encoding.
Fig. 3. Overview of a set of groups of groups of entities arranged into a constellation.
At this stage the interview should be ripe for in-depth discussion about the findings
and possible enhancements of the sketches of visualizations that were created by the
SME and the interviewer to make sure there is enough details for its implementation.
Based on the sketches created during the interview by the interviewer and SME, they
will select one or more layouts as potential designs to be implemented in VDE (or other)
software for further evaluation. Once the SME’s understanding of their dataset has been
documented, the interviewer will explain further steps (e.g., timeline of implementa-
tion, further testing with her / his data, if necessary).
3.3 Implementation of Data Visualization
After conducting Session 1 interviews, the data-shapes identified during those inter-
views will be evaluated by the conductor of the study with the following criteria:
1. The proposed visualization differs from existing 2D or 3D data-shapes that either
the SMEs referred to, or which are previously known to authors (for example, Fig-
ures 1 - 4). If the visualization layouts are easily customizable to the needs of the
SME and with the available data, that shall be done.
2. The data-shape can be rendered functional using the data that the SME referred to
during their Interview Session 1.
10
Fig. 4. Overview of a constellation of groups, where subgroups of entities can be distinguished
afar, and examined in detail when user zooms in (moves closer with the VR headset).
Layouts that meet the evaluation criteria are implemented with chosen software. In
case the VDE is used, the visualization layouts are either created via new configuration
files, or by implementing the necessary new components with C# and Unity 3D.
Once all the data-shapes identified during the Session 1 interviews have been imple-
mented in the visualization software, and each SME’s visualization has been reviewed
with the data sources specified by the SME and found to support the analytical goals
provided by the interviewee that it was designed with, Session 2 interviews will be
scheduled.
3.4 Interview Session 2
The goal of these interviews is for each SME to evaluate the usefulness of the visuali-
zation(s) developed based on their interview and other visualizations that were created
for their colleagues for the same data and / or role. At the start of the interview, the
SME will be reminded about the findings from the Session 1 interview and asked for
permission to record the audio and video during the current session. When each visu-
alization is introduced, the interviewer will thoroughly explain the logic of the visuali-
zation process to the SME, to make sure they fully understand what is being visualized
and why, and ensure the SME knows how to use the visualization with their data and
interpret its results.
The SME will then be asked to answer some task-related questions while using each
of the visualizations: for example, can the visualization enable the SME to identify
11
whether (a) a suspicious host has initiated a connection targeting an entity that is cur-
rently (b) vulnerable and/or the physical or functional provenance of the targeted entity
is (c) part of the protected network at the (d) time when this behavior was observed.
Afterwards, the SME will be asked to provide feedback on the visualizations. This
feedback will be subjective measures of mental workload and usability, measured using
standard survey instruments, respectively the Modified Cooper-Harper (MCH) [19]
Scale and the System Usability Scale (SUS) [20]. MCH uses a decision tree to elicit
mental workload; the SME simply follows the decision tree, answering questions re-
garding the task and system in order to elicit an appropriate workload rating. In the
SUS, participants are asked to respond to 10 standard statements about usability with a
Likert scale that ranges from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree”. The SUS can
be used on small sample sizes with reliable results, effectively differentiating between
usable and unusable visualizations. Once done, the SME is asked, using open ended
questions to provide overall feedback on the visualizations used, as well on the process
of the interviews.
4 Conclusion
The mental model mapping method described in this paper could be used to create data
visualizations with SMEs that would be beneficial for them and their immediate peers’
purposes. Visualizations that originate from the same SME group could be evaluated
by peers from that same group, preferably with the same dataset or using the same
original data sources.
The participatory design method described in this paper focuses on creating 3D vis-
ualizations for Virtual Data Explorer. With appropriate changes, it may be also appli-
cable for developing 2D visualizations for cybersecurity.
Our follow-up study will describe the results of applying this interviewing method,
including an overview of the results of Session 1 interviews, descriptive visualizations
of the data-shapes created during the study, lessons learnt from applying the interview-
ing method and overview of SME feedback on the visualizations used during Interview
Session 2.
Later studies could investigate whether data-shapes created based on interviews with
experienced SMEs are more accurate and detailed than the data-shapes for the same
data that were created during interviews with less experienced SMEs. Another area ripe
for research is evaluating what impact these 3D data-shapes developed based on expe-
rienced users’ interview might have in teaching the (functional, physical, logical) to-
pology of a protected network environment. It is possible that this would speed up the
onboarding of new team members by assisting them in learning the functional topology
and the behavior of entities that are present in their datasets, for example, the logs from
various devices in the protected computer networks.
Further evaluation of the qualitative differences between the 3D visualizations cre-
ated with SMEs could be done with a follow up study, where the control group’s mem-
bers are not granted access to these 3D visualizations, while experimental group will
be taught to use the 3D visualizations created during the study.
12
5 Acknowledgements
For all the hints, ideas and mentoring, authors thank Jennifer A. Cowley, Alexander
Kott, Lee C. Trossbach, Jaan Priisalu, Olaf Manuel Maennel. This research was partly
supported by the Army Research Laboratory under Cooperative Agreement Number
W911NF-17-2-0083. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those
of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either
expressed or implied, of the Army Research Laboratory or the U.S. Government. The
U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Government
purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation herein.
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The human visual system is generally more adept at inferring meaning from graphical objects and natural scene elements than reading alphanumeric characters. Graphical objects like charts and graphs in cybersecurity dashboards often lack the requisite numbers of features to depict behaviors of complex network data. For example, bar charts afford few features to encode a panoply of parameters in network data. Furthermore, dashboard visualizations seldom support the transition of human work from situation awareness building to requisite responses during intrusion detection events. This research effort aims to identify how graphical objects (also referred as data-shapes) depicted in Virtual Reality tools, developed in accordance with an analyst’s mental model of an intrusion detection event, can enhance analyst’s situation awareness. We demonstrate the proposed approach using Locked Shields 16 CDX network traffic. Implications of this study and future case study are discussed.
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The area of visualization in cyber-security is advancing at a fast pace. However, there is a lack of standardized guidelines for designing and evaluating the resulting visualizations. Furthermore, limited end-user involvement in the design process leads to visualizations that are generic and often ineffective for cyber-security analysts. Thus, the adoption of the resultant cyber-security visualizations is low and this highlights a major research gap. This paper presents expert-interview based validation of EEVi - a model developed to aid in the design and evaluation process of cyber-security visualizations, with a view to make them more effective for cyber-security analysts. A visualization is considered effective if the characteristics of the visualization are essential for an analyst to competently perform a certain task. Thirteen experts were interviewed (six visualization designers and seven cyber-security analysts) and their feedback guided revisions to the model. The responses were subsequently transposed from qualitative data to quantitive data in order to perform statistical analyses on the overall data. This demonstrated that the perspectives of visualization designers and cyber-security analysts generally agreed in their views of effective characteristics for cyber- security visualization, however there was no statistically significant correlation in their responses.
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A Critical Decision Method (CDM) has been developed for knowledge elicitation. The CDM, an extension of the critical incident technique, includes protocol analysis and memory recall tasks to study cognitive performance. A set of probes is employed to trace the development of situation assessment during critical incidents, and to determine the decision strategies used. The outputs of the method include inventories of the critical cues, graphic portrayals of the situation assessment process, and categorization of the decision strategies. Thus far, the method has been used with a variety of decisions and appears especially well suited to studying cognitive performance in naturalistic settings. It also appears valuable for addressing the highly skilled decision maker, and for eliciting the analytical and perceptual bases of proficient performance. Applications have been made for training, decision support systems, and the development and evaluation of knowledge based systems. Keywords: Knowledge elicitation, Decision making, Situation assessment, Knowledge engineering, Expertise.
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We present an initial design framework for immersive analytics based on Brehmer and Munzner’s “What-Why-How” data visualisation framework. We extend their framework to take into account Who are the people or teams of people who are going to use the system, and Where is the system to be used and what are the available devices and technology. In addition, the How component is extended to cater for collaboration, multisensory presentation, interaction with an underlying computational model, degree of fidelity and organisation of the workspace around the user. By doing so we provide a framework for understanding immersive analytics research and applications as well as clarifying how immersive analytics differs from traditional data visualisation and visual analytics.