The Role of Cue Utilisation and Background Office Noise on Phishing Email Detection

Abstract

Phishing email attacks have increased significantly in recent years, resulting in losses over $200 million for both Australian individuals and organisations in 2022. In order to reduce this risk, individuals need to be able to effectively identify phishing emails. While previous research has shown that cue utilisation improves phishing email detection, none have examined cue utilisation within noisy work environments, where email communication is highly prevalent. Understanding how situational factors like office noise impact phishing detection is crucial for the protection of an organisation's cybersecurity. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between cue utilisation and background office noise on an individual's ability to differentiate phishing from genuine emails. In a lab-based study, a sample of Australian residents (N = 49) completed two tasks in which they were required to sort a series of emails (50% phishing) into one of ten categories. Participants completed one task under simulated background office noise and completed the other task with no noise. Cue utilisation was measured using the cybersecurity edition of EXPERTise 2.0 situational judgement test. Consistent with past findings, this study found that higher levels of cue utilisation were associated with a greater ability to differentiate phishing from genuine emails. Participants performance was not affected by background office noise, however, background noise resulted in greater perceived cognitive load. Overall, the findings in this study may aid in the development of education and training programs to enhance phishing detection. Keywords: Cue Utilisation, Phishing email detection, cybersecurity, office noise, EXPERTise