Browsing by Author "Uotila, Eino"

This review focuses on the relationships between the Big Five personality traits and phishing susceptibility online. Phishing is defined as an act where the phisher attempts to gather delicate information, such as passwords or bank credentials. Online phishing happens usually by the means of e-mail or social media. Phishing is a common occurrence and people spend a lot of time on the internet. Therefore it is important to examine how personality traits might be linked to how susceptible different people are to phishing. In addition to the Big Five personality traits, the principles of social manipulation discussed in literature are within the framework of this review. Social manipulation is a key component of phishing, as the phisher’s aim is to get the victim to give out their information. No single trait alone exposes anyone to phishing. Phishing susceptibility is always dependent on the context. However, agreeableness, conscientiousness and extraversion seem to be most related to higher phishing susceptibility. These connections are somewhat dependent on the principles of social manipulation that the phisher takes advantage of. Still, the foregoing traits might in some cases be connected to lower phishing susceptibility, thus protecting people from phishing. In addition, neuroticism and openness can sometimes be connected to higher phishing susceptibility. Personality is only a part of the concept of phishing susceptibility. Regardless, the relationships between personality and phishing susceptibility have been examined to some extent. Personality can also be taken into account when training users against phishing. Training in cybersecurity is found to be a worthwhile remedy against phishing online.