The key factors that influence employees’ awareness of social engineering: A systematic literature review

<h2>Abstract</h2> Social engineering is a significant security threat faced by organizations, with employees being the main targets. This systematic literature review (SLR) investigates the key factors that influence employees' awareness of social engineering, along with the methodologies used to identify them. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, the study defines research objectives, search strategies, selection criteria, and data synthesis methods. The details of the protocol execution are given, highlighting the process used to select primary studies, the temporal view of publications, the distribution of studies after quality assessment, and research country distribution. Sixty-eight relevant studies published between 2008 and 2023 were analyzed, detailing the selection process, publication trends, and quality assessments. The findings revealed that there are eight main factors that positively affect social engineering awareness among employees. These factors are perceptual, organizational, social, psychological, behavioral, cultural, security awareness, and content-related factors. The review also revealed that quantitative survey-based methodology was the most popular means of obtaining the influencing factors. By understanding the factors that influence employee awareness, organizations can develop effective strategies to mitigate the risks associated with social engineering attacks.