Enhancing Protection Against Social Engineering Attacks in the Nigerian Financial Sector Using SOAR‑Driven Automated Incident Response

Social engineering attacks continue to pose a significant and evolving threat to the Nigerian financial sector, where rapid digitalization, high transaction volumes, and widespread reliance on electronic banking channels increase exposure to human‑focused cyberattacks. Phishing, business email compromise, credential harvesting, and social‑media‑enabled impersonation remain major attack vectors that routinely bypass traditional security controls by exploiting human vulnerabilities. To address this challenge, this study investigates the application of Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms as a technical and procedural mechanism for reducing susceptibility to social engineering attacks and minimizing the impact of successful breaches. The research develops realistic social engineering scenarios reflecting common Nigerian threat patterns—including brute‑force credential attacks, unauthorized account access, data exfiltration, and malware‑enabled compromise—and maps them to automated SOAR playbooks triggered by SIEM‑generated alerts. These playbooks perform actions such as automated account lockdowns, forced password resets, anomaly‑based detection of suspicious login activity, and user‑targeted security notifications. Findings demonstrate that SOAR‑driven responses significantly reduce response time, enhance containment of post‑breach activity, and improve overall cyber resilience within financial institutions. The study further highlights the relevance of SOAR in alleviating the strain on Nigerian cybersecurity teams facing persistent skill shortages. Importantly, the integration of automated incident response supports strengthened compliance with sectoral regulatory expectations, particularly those issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), by enhancing auditability, incident tracking, and timely remediation. While SOAR cannot fully prevent social engineering, it serves as a critical complementary measure within a multilayered cybersecurity architecture across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.