Social network phishing: Becoming habituated to clicks and ignorant to threats?

With the rise in number of reported phishing cases in statistical reports and online news, it is apparent that the threat of phishing is not retreating. Phishers continuously seek new methods to deceive individuals into sharing their confidential information. As a result, today the traditional form of conducting phishing solely through email and spoofed websites has evolved. Social network phishing is a serious threat as it reaches a far wider audience, consequently affecting both business and private individuals. This paper argues that due to the constant updates of information users are engaged in on social networking sites, users may become habituated to clicking and sharing links, liking posts, copying and pasting messages, and uploading and downloading media content, thus resulting in information overload. This behavioral priming leads users to becoming more susceptible to social engineering attacks on social networks as they do not cognitively process messages with a security lens. This paper introduces social network phishing and briefly discusses activities users engage in on social networks sites, thus highlighting the formation of “bad” habits. Further, existing information processing models applicable to this context are discussed.