TY - CHAP A1 - Hörnemann, Jan A1 - Braun, Oskar A1 - Theis, Daniel A1 - Pohlmann, Norbert A1 - Urban, Tobias A1 - Große-Kampmann, Matteo T1 - Exploring the Effects of Cybersecurity Awareness and Decision-Making Under Risk T2 - Science of Cyber Security. 6th International Conference, SciSec 2024, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 14–16, 2024, Proceedings N2 - Abstract This paper challenges the conventional assumption in cybersecurity that users act as rational actors. Despite numerous technical solutions, awareness campaigns, and organizational strategies aimed at bolstering cybersecurity, these often overlook the prevalence of non-rational user behavior. Our study, involving a survey of 208 participants, empirically demonstrates this aspect. We found that a significant portion of users (55.3%) would accept a substantial risk (35%) to click on a potentially malicious link or attachment. This propensity increases to 61% when users are led to believe there is a 65% chance of facing no adverse consequences. To address this irrationality, we explored the efficacy of nudging mechanisms within email systems. Our qualitative user study revealed that incorporating a simple colored nudge in the email intably enhance the ability of users to discern malicious emails, improving decision-making accuracy by an average of 10%. KW - Economics of Cybersecurity KW - User Behavior KW - Behavioral Economics Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-2417-1_11 SP - 196 EP - 216 PB - Springer Nature ER -