Using Breach and Attack Demonstrations to Explain Spear Phishing Attacks to Young Adults

Curtis Briddick; Pam Briggs; James Nicholson

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-62918-1_5

Using Breach and Attack Demonstrations to Explain Spear Phishing Attacks to Young Adults

Curtis Briddick, Pam Briggs, James Nicholson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

65 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Phishing attacks continue to thrive despite continued efforts to inform citizens about their dangers and how to enact protective behaviours. Demonstrations have been shown to help enhance student learning in various disciplines, yet these have not been explored in a security context with lay individuals. We designed and delivered a Breach and Attack Demonstration (BAD) of spear phishing to 10 lay younger adults (18-24) to explore their perceptions of this method as an awareness tool and to capture any long-lasting impressions. Based on semi-structured interviews and survey responses 6 months after the demonstrations, we found that participants were surprised at how simple spear phishing attacks were to enact and this impression persevered 6 months following the BAD. We discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using BADs as an interactive awareness tool, concluding with recommendations for the design of such demon- strations for lay individuals.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Information Security Education - Challenges in the Digital Age (WISE 2024)
Editors	Lynette Drevin, Wai Sze Leung, Suné von Solms
Place of Publication	Cham
Publisher	Springer
Pages	65-80
Number of pages	16
ISBN (Electronic)	9783031629181
ISBN (Print)	9783031629174
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-62918-1_5
Publication status	Published - 11 Jun 2024
Event	World Conference on Information Security Education - Edinburgh, United Kingdom Duration: 12 Jun 2024 → 14 Jun 2024 https://www.ifiptc11.org/wg118-wise

Publication series

Name	IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology
Publisher	Springer
Volume	707
ISSN (Print)	1868-4238
ISSN (Electronic)	1868-422X

Conference

Conference	World Conference on Information Security Education
Abbreviated title	WISE
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Edinburgh
Period	12/06/24 → 14/06/24
Internet address	https://www.ifiptc11.org/wg118-wise

Keywords

phishing
demonstrations
young adults

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-62918-1_5

BAD.WISE24Accepted author manuscript, 1.01 MB

Cite this

Briddick, C., Briggs, P., & Nicholson, J. (2024). Using Breach and Attack Demonstrations to Explain Spear Phishing Attacks to Young Adults. In L. Drevin, W. S. Leung, & S. von Solms (Eds.), Information Security Education - Challenges in the Digital Age (WISE 2024) (pp. 65-80). (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology; Vol. 707). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-62918-1_5

Briddick, Curtis ; Briggs, Pam ; Nicholson, James. / Using Breach and Attack Demonstrations to Explain Spear Phishing Attacks to Young Adults. Information Security Education - Challenges in the Digital Age (WISE 2024). editor / Lynette Drevin ; Wai Sze Leung ; Suné von Solms. Cham : Springer, 2024. pp. 65-80 (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology).

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Briddick, C, Briggs, P & Nicholson, J 2024, Using Breach and Attack Demonstrations to Explain Spear Phishing Attacks to Young Adults. in L Drevin, WS Leung & S von Solms (eds), Information Security Education - Challenges in the Digital Age (WISE 2024). IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol. 707, Springer, Cham, pp. 65-80, World Conference on Information Security Education, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 12/06/24. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-62918-1_5

Using Breach and Attack Demonstrations to Explain Spear Phishing Attacks to Young Adults. / Briddick, Curtis; Briggs, Pam ; Nicholson, James.
Information Security Education - Challenges in the Digital Age (WISE 2024). ed. / Lynette Drevin; Wai Sze Leung; Suné von Solms. Cham: Springer, 2024. p. 65-80 (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology; Vol. 707).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

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Briddick C, Briggs P , Nicholson J. Using Breach and Attack Demonstrations to Explain Spear Phishing Attacks to Young Adults. In Drevin L, Leung WS, von Solms S, editors, Information Security Education - Challenges in the Digital Age (WISE 2024). Cham: Springer. 2024. p. 65-80. (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-62918-1_5