A CASE STUDY ON STEM PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING APPROACH IN DEVELOPING COMPETENCIES FOR RECOGNIZING PHISHING EMAILS

This research aims to explore if problem-based learning has an effect on employees’ ability within an organization to detect phishing emails. Specifically, this paper tries to answer the following research question: Does the problem-based learning method in STEM affect the ability of an organization’s employees to recognize potential phishing emails? The research was carried out through a case study involving a phishing simulation conducted within a Central European company. A total of 221 employees were targeted with phishing emails over two separate rounds, which lasted for four weeks. Between the rounds of the phishing campaign, problem-based learning education about phishing was provided to all employees. The research findings highlight several key points. Initially, there’s been a reduction in the count of employees who clicked on links found in phishing emails. Second, there has been a decline in employees providing their user credentials to phishing websites. Lastly, the number of employees reporting suspected phishing emails to the IT department has also decreased. To our knowledge, this is the first paper that links STEM through problem-based learning with phishing.