PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES TO TRAINING ORGANIZATION STAFF TO COUNTER SOCIAL ENGINEERING ATTACKS IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

The article analyzes a set of pedagogical and technological solutions for forming a “human firewall” in organizations and reducing vulnerability to social engineering attacks. Economic analysis shows that the average cost of a data breach will reach USD 4,88 million in 2024 (an increase of 10% YoY), with 88% of incidents caused by human error, and phishing and pretexting accounting for up to 73% of primary compromise vectors; according to Proofpoint, 68% of employees knowingly take risks, exacerbating the threat. The theoretical review combines Knowles’s andragogy, Bandura’s sociocognitive model, Sweller’s cognitive load theory, Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, and Mezirow’s transformational approach, adapting them into AI/ML-oriented e-learning modules based on the ADDIE methodology, taking into account Mayer’s principles of multimedia learning and Gagne’s stages. A meta-analysis of 19 experimental studies (N = 23) demonstrated a large standardized mean effect (Hedges’ g ≈ 146) in reducing vulnerability to social engineering attacks. Investments in continuous training and automated detection reduce the incident life cycle by 0,8 days and provide savings of over USD 108 million per data breach. The obtained ROI indicators and reduced TCO justify the need to integrate pedagogical methods and technical means into a single human-centric information security management strategy.