Brain Functional Connectivity Mechanisms of FNIRS-Based Security Warnings Affecting Phishing Recognition

In the face of the severe threat posed by phishing to information security, the role of security warnings has received a lot of attention. Existing studies on the effects of security warnings on users’ ability to identify phishing have yet to reached a unified conclusion, while the cognitive neural changes behind the phenomenon need to be further explored. In this study, we utilized functional near-infrared technology to investigate the effects of security warnings on users’ functional brain connectivity for identifying phishing. It was found that the security warning did not significantly affect users’ functional connectivity in the prefrontal lobe but significantly reduced the functional connectivity of the right temporoparietal lobe and between the right middle temporal gyrus and the left superior frontal gyrus in women. The possible explanation is that although the security warning reduced users’ trust in phishing emails, it is difficult to affect users’ cognitive abilities because trust and cognition do not constantly interact, resulting in a lack of improvement in users’ ability to recognize phishing. Expanding the research on the functional brain connectivity mechanisms by which security warnings affect users’ recognition of phishing from the cognitive neuroscience perspective can help improve phishing security intervention strategies.