Date of Award
Winter 12-17-2025
Document Type
Project (696 or 796 registration)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Cybersecurity
Department
Graduate Studies
Committee Chair
Dr. Adaeze Nwaigwe
Keywords
Behavior change; Cybersecurity awareness training; Phishing awareness training; Simulation‑based training; Social engineering
Abstract
Phishing, a social engineering technique, is a widespread cybersecurity threat that impacts organizations in the United States and abroad. In a phishing attack, the victim is compelled through psychological pressure such as urgency and curiosity, to perform an action that benefits the attacker such as, clicking a link to download malicious software or to divulge the victim’s sensitive information. Successful phishing attacks cost US organizations billions of US dollars.This study carried out at a Teaching Hospital in Ghana, Accra, assessed how phishing awareness training affects employee behavior in targeted phishing attacks.
The research design was quasi-experimental, and it involved 25 healthcare workers who included nurses, the administrative staff, the laboratory technicians, and the junior physicians. The study took place over two months.
The results show that click rates dropped to 60% for the second simulated phishing email as compared to the 84% recorded for the first simulated phishing email sent to participants before phishing awareness training. This was a 28.6% decrease. The rate of submission of credentials decreased from 32% to 8% (that is, 75% decrease), with respect to the first and second simulated phishing emails, respectively. For the second simulated phishing email, the reporting rates increased to 52% as compared to 12% for the first simulated phishing email. This was a 40% change in reporting rate.
The findings in this study are promising and suggest that phishing awareness training can be used to change employee behavior and minimize cybersecurity risks faced by healthcare organizations in Accra, West Africa.
Recommended Citation
Nkrumah, Vincent N., "Effect of Phishing Awareness Training on User behavior in a West African Healthcare Organization" (2025). Dissertations, Theses, and Projects. 1085.
https://red.mnstate.edu/thesis/1085