Behavioral Cybersecurity, Deception and Secure Design
A special issue of Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (ISSN 2414-4088).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 13
Special Issue Editors
Interests: human computer interaction; serious games; educational simulations; social network analysis; social media
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue of Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (MTI) focuses on the critical intersection of human behavior, deception, and secure design. Emerging technologies, ranging from Large Language Models (LLMs) to social VR platforms to synthetic media, provide new platforms for deception. Meanwhile, new technologies enable novel methods of capturing data, detecting deception, training personnel, and understanding fundamental human behavior related to security. This Special Issue brings together interdisciplinary research at the intersection of human behavior, deception, multimodal technologies, and the design of secure socio-technical systems.
Contributions may explore a range of topics, including the cognitive and social dimensions of secure human–computer interaction, user-centered approaches to authentication, the role of AI in creating personalized phishing attacks, or new methods or tools for reducing human susceptibility to deception. Papers may also address socio-technical challenges in digital trust, disinformation, and deepfakes, highlighting how multimodal systems can either reinforce or undermine secure behavior. Case studies, theoretical frameworks, design-based research, and empirical investigations are welcomed from disciplines spanning computer science, psychology, human–computer interaction, cybersecurity, and the social sciences.
By situating cybersecurity within the broader scope of human perception, cognition, and design, this Special Issue underscores the importance of integrating behavioral perspectives into the development of secure and usable technologies. Collectively, these contributions provide fresh insights into avoiding deception, enhancing resilience, and ensuring that security systems align with human capabilities and needs.
Prof. Dr. Derek L. Hansen
Prof. Dr. Ben Schooley
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- behavioral cybersecurity
- usable security and privacy
- phishing and social engineering in the age of AI
- human factors in cybersecurity
- multimodal authentication
- deception in social VR platforms
- voice cloning
- synthetic media
- human-AI adversarial interaction and security
- dark patterns and dark UI/UX
- cognitive security
- deepfake detection and mitigation
- security awareness training and games
- foreign information manipulation and influence (FIMI)
- misinformation and disinformation
- behavioral threat intelligence
- adversarial tactics and technologies
- personalized threat modeling and detection
- multicultural/cross-cultural behavioral security
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