Human Vulnerabilities to Social Engineering Attacks: A Systematic Literature Review for Building a Human Firewall

PROBLEM CONTEXT

Organizations continue to invest in technical controls, yet social engineering attacks remain highly effective because attackers exploit predictable human psychology such as fear, urgency, trust, and authority bias. Existing studies were fragmented and lacked an integrated, evidence-based vulnerability map.

RESEARCH APPROACH

The research applies a rigorous PRISMA-based review pipeline (identification, screening, eligibility, inclusion), strict inclusion/exclusion criteria, and narrative thematic synthesis. The output is a consolidated framework of victimization patterns and vulnerability factors, then translated into human-centered security implications for users, institutions, and system designers.

NOVELTY & CONTRIBUTION

• Mapped five recurring victimization patterns: emotional exploitation, authority abuse, fake urgency, low awareness, and cognitive fatigue
• Classified three major vulnerability domains: psychological, social, and digital-behavioral factors
• Provided evidence that human vulnerabilities are a primary attack surface in social engineering success
• Established a conceptual foundation for a Human Firewall and future SEADM development in mobile banking context

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION

• Research problem framing and RQ design (RQ1 and RQ2)
• SLR protocol design and PRISMA-compliant article selection
• Data extraction, thematic synthesis, and evidence consolidation
• Model conceptualization and manuscript authoring for publication