SCVI: Bridging Social and Cyber Dimensions for Comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment

The rise of cyber threats on social media platforms necessitates advanced metrics to assess and mitigate social cyber vulnerabilities. This paper presents the Social Cyber Vulnerability Index (SCVI), a novel framework integrating individual-level factors (e.g., awareness, behavioral traits, psychological attributes) and attack-level characteristics (e.g., frequency, consequence, sophistication) for comprehensive socio-cyber vulnerability assessment. SCVI is validated using survey data (iPoll) and textual data (Reddit scam reports), demonstrating adaptability across modalities while revealing demographic disparities and regional vulnerabilities. Comparative analyses with the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) and the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) show the superior ability of SCVI to capture nuanced socio-technical risks. Monte Carlo-based weight variability analysis confirms SCVI is robust and highlights its utility in identifying high-risk groups. By addressing gaps in traditional metrics, SCVI offers actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners, advancing inclusive strategies to mitigate emerging threats such as AI-powered phishing and deepfake scams.

@article{mitra2025_2503.20806,
  title={ SCVI: Bridging Social and Cyber Dimensions for Comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment },
  author={ Shutonu Mitra and Tomas Neguyen and Qi Zhang and Hyungmin Kim and Hossein Salemi and Chen-Wei Chang and Fengxiu Zhang and Michin Hong and Chang-Tien Lu and Hemant Purohit and Jin-Hee Cho },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.20806},
  year={ 2025 }
}