About this repository

This data repository contains the data of an phishing email eye tracking study with 103 participants published in the Paper "Enhancing Phishing Detection: An Eye-Tracking Study on User Interaction and Oversights in Phishing Emails". The study analyzed whether the addition of a security awareness tool would increase effectiveness and efficiency of phishing email detection. A Phishing Awareness System (PAD) prototype was developed, integrated and tested within Microsoft Outlook.

Abstract

Phishing remains a significant threat to organizational security, necessitating effective countermeasures. This paper presents findings from an in-depth eye-tracking study with 103 participants, evaluating the effectiveness of phishing awareness tools and trainings. The study examines how a phishing awareness system influences user behavior, efficiency, and the ability to identify phishing attempts. By analyzing eye movements, the study reveals real-time interactions and oversights, providing insights into the decision-making process. Results indicate that while the system improves the efficiency of users already proficient in phishing detection, it does not universally enhance recognition rates. Notably, participants using the tool spent significantly less time looking at attachment-related phishing markers, indicating partial efficiency improvements. Since phishing attempts containing suspicious attachments were successful in 19\% of cases, as compared to an overall phishing success rate of 15\%, the phishing awareness tool is particularly useful here. A usability evaluation revealed that users reporting a higher perceived usability score profited more from the help of the tool. Additionally, no improvement in phishing detection rates was observed in users who had completed prior IT-security training, highlighting the necessity for a paradigm shift in phishing training to adequately prepare users for phishing attempts.

Data Explanation

This repository contains different types of files including the used stimuli, data used in statistical tests, results of questionnaires and the raw eye-tracking data.

• Stimuli
  All used emails/stimuli are saved as images (.png). The emails using the developed Phishing Awarenes System (PAS) can be identified by having *_PAS_* in file name. The emails not using the PAS can be identified by the _without_PAS_ in the file name. 
• Data used in statistical test (adressing research questions 2 to 5)
  Their name begins with "Statistical_Test_*"
• Results of the used questionnaire
  All questionnaire answers referenced in the paper can be found in the files starting with "Results_*"
• Raw eye-tracking data
  The raw eye-tracking data is also included in this repository. It is identified by files starting with "Raw_Data_*"

Acknowledgments

This study was conducted as part of the EU-funded project "Digital Innovation Ostbayern (DInO)". DInO is part of the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) program and is funded by

• the European Union (Project Reference 101083427) and
• the European Funds for Regional Development (EFRE) (Project Reference 20-3092.10-THD-105).

This eye-tracking study was approved by the Joint Ethics Committee of the Bavarian Universities (GEHBa) with the reference number GEHBa-202312-V-155-R.

Contact Information

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to the owners of this repository by mail: meret.kristen(a)oth-regensburg.de, fabian.engl(a)oth-regensburg.de or juergen.mottok(a)oth-regensburg.de.