MORPHEUS: A Multidimensional Framework for Modeling, Measuring, and Mitigating Human Factors in Cybersecurity

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Desolda, Giuseppe, Greco, Francesco, Lanzilotti, Rosa, Tucci, Cesare
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Desolda, Giuseppe
Greco, Francesco
Lanzilotti, Rosa
Tucci, Cesare
author_facet Desolda, Giuseppe
Greco, Francesco
Lanzilotti, Rosa
Tucci, Cesare
contents Current cybersecurity research increasingly acknowledges the human factor, yet remains fragmented, often treating user vulnerabilities as isolated and static traits. This paper introduces MORPHEUS, a holistic framework that operationalizes human-centric security as a dynamic and interconnected system. Grounded in the Cognition-Affect-Behavior (CAB) model and Attribution Theory, MORPHEUS consolidates 50 human factors influencing susceptibility to major cyberthreats, including phishing, malware, password management, and misconfigurations. Beyond factor identification, the framework systematically maps 295 documented interactions, revealing how cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and socio-organizational processes jointly shape security outcomes, and distills them into twelve recurring interaction mechanisms. MORPHEUS further links theory to practice through an inventory of 99 validated psychometric instruments, enabling empirical assessment and targeted intervention. We illustrate the framework's applicability through concrete operational scenarios, spanning risk diagnosis, training, and interface design. Overall, MORPHEUS provides a rigorous yet actionable foundation for advancing human-centered cybersecurity research and practice.
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle MORPHEUS: A Multidimensional Framework for Modeling, Measuring, and Mitigating Human Factors in Cybersecurity
Desolda, Giuseppe
Greco, Francesco
Lanzilotti, Rosa
Tucci, Cesare
Cryptography and Security
Human-Computer Interaction
Current cybersecurity research increasingly acknowledges the human factor, yet remains fragmented, often treating user vulnerabilities as isolated and static traits. This paper introduces MORPHEUS, a holistic framework that operationalizes human-centric security as a dynamic and interconnected system. Grounded in the Cognition-Affect-Behavior (CAB) model and Attribution Theory, MORPHEUS consolidates 50 human factors influencing susceptibility to major cyberthreats, including phishing, malware, password management, and misconfigurations. Beyond factor identification, the framework systematically maps 295 documented interactions, revealing how cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and socio-organizational processes jointly shape security outcomes, and distills them into twelve recurring interaction mechanisms. MORPHEUS further links theory to practice through an inventory of 99 validated psychometric instruments, enabling empirical assessment and targeted intervention. We illustrate the framework's applicability through concrete operational scenarios, spanning risk diagnosis, training, and interface design. Overall, MORPHEUS provides a rigorous yet actionable foundation for advancing human-centered cybersecurity research and practice.
title MORPHEUS: A Multidimensional Framework for Modeling, Measuring, and Mitigating Human Factors in Cybersecurity
topic Cryptography and Security
Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.18303