From Harm to Healing: Understanding Individual Resilience after Cybercrimes

Chen, Xiaowei; Tran, Mindy; Deng, Yue; Acharya, Bhupendra; Zou, Yixin; Deng, Yue; Chen, Xiaowei; Liao, Junxiang; Li, Bo; Zou, Yixin; Chen, Xiaowei; Chen, Xiaowei; Distler, Verena; Gordon, Chloe; Yao, Yaxing; Teuber, Ziwen; Chen, Xiaowei; Schöni, Lorin; Distler, Verena; Zimmermann, Verena; Chen, Xiaowei; Doublet, Sophie; Sergeeva, Anastasia; Lenzini, Gabriele; Koenig, Vincent; Distler, Verena; Chen, Xiaowei; Sacre, Margault; Lenzini, Gabriele; Greiff, Samuel; Distler, Verena; Sergeeva, Anastasia; Wang, Ziming; Wu, Yiqian; Yang, Shiwei; Chen, Xiaowei; Rohles, Björn; Fjeld, Morten; Chen, Xiaowei; Doublet, Sophie; Distler, Verena; Metreveli, Anna; Chen, Xiaowei; Hedman, Anders; Sergeeva, Anastasia; Chen, Xiaowei; Hedman, Anders; Distler, Verena; Koenig, Vincent

doi:10.1145/3719027.3765214

Dr. Xiaowei Chen

Postdoctoral Fellow · Human-Centered Security and Privacy Group
Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy, Bochum, Germany

I develop socio-technical solutions to enhance cyber resilience in the real world. My research bridges Human–Computer Interaction, security and privacy, and behavioral science. My work spans three connected themes: security and privacy education; post-cybercrime support; and User Experience of emerging technologies.

I currently lead the SiCV project (“Supporting Infrastructure for Cybercrime Victims”), which examines how individuals recover from cybercrime across EU contexts and develops infrastructure to better support them. This work involves close collaboration with stakeholders across online platforms, law enforcement, public organizations, and financial institutions. Project team includes Dr. Yixin Zou and Dr. Thorsten Holz.

I received my PhD in Psychology (Human–Computer Interaction track) from the University of Luxembourg in September 2025. I led the “AES Anti-Phishing” project, where I investigated how motivation theories inform the design of security and privacy interventions, how user experience shapes engagement, and how field experiments ground these insights in real-world contexts. Thesis Committee included Prof. Christine Schiltz, Prof. Verena Distler, and Prof. Gabriele Lenzini.

Google Scholar / ORCID / ResearchGate / LinkedIn / CV (PDF)

News

May 2026Visited Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (11-13 May, Freiburg): exchanged with MPI-CSL scholars on our cybercrime research projects.
Apr 2026Attended CHI '26 (Barcelona, 13–17 Apr.), where my two papers were presented in the Scam Experiences session.
Feb 2026Attended Police Accountability Conference (Freiburg): exchange with law and criminology scholars on challenges & opportunities in policing emerging cybercrimes.
Nov 2025Joined Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy as Postdoctoral Fellow in the Human-Centered Security and Privacy Group.
Oct 2025Paper on "Empowering parents to support children's online security & privacy" presented at ACM CCS '25.

Selected Honors & Awards

2026Best Paper Honorable Mention 🏅, ACM CHI '26
2025Excellent PhD Thesis Award 🏆, University of Luxembourg
2025Best Paper Honorable Mention 🏅, ACM CHI '25
2024/25Research Support Grants, Doctoral School in Humanities & Social Sciences (DSHSS), University of Luxembourg
2025Travel Grant (Academic Guest), Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy
2021Young Academic Grant, Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Luxembourg
2021Karl Engvers Foundation Scholarship, Sweden
2020Erasmus+ Scholarship, European Commission

Publications

11
From Harm to Healing: Understanding Individual Resilience after Cybercrimes
Xiaowei Chen, Mindy Tran, Yue Deng, Bhupendra Acharya, Yixin Zou

ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26), Barcelona, 2026

A* CORE
Paper
10
Experiencer, Helper, or Observer: Online Fraud Intervention for Older Adults Through a Role-based Simulation Approach
Yue Deng, Xiaowei Chen, Junxiang Liao, Bo Li, Yixin Zou

ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26), Barcelona, 2026

A* CORE🏅 Best Paper Honorable Mention
Paper
9
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Improve Security and Privacy Intervention Design: Motivation Theories, User Experience, and Field Experiments
Xiaowei Chen

University of Luxembourg, 2025

Doctoral Dissertation 🏆 Excellent Thesis Award
paper
8
Empowering Parents to Support Children's Online Security and Privacy: Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial
Xiaowei Chen, Verena Distler, Chloe Gordon, Yaxing Yao, Ziwen Teuber

ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS '25), Taipei, 2025

A* CORE
paper
7
Beyond Deterrence: A Systematic Review of the Role of Autonomous Motivation in Organizational Security Behavior Studies
Xiaowei Chen, Lorin Schöni, Verena Distler, Verena Zimmermann

ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '25), Yokohama, 2025

A* CORE🏅 Best Paper Honorable Mention
paper
6
What Motivates and Discourages Employees in Phishing Interventions: An Exploration of Expectancy-Value Theory
Xiaowei Chen, Sophie Doublet, Anastasia Sergeeva, Gabriele Lenzini, Vincent Koenig, Verena Distler

USENIX Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2024)

A CORE
paper
5
The Effects of Group Discussion and Role-playing Training on Self-efficacy, Support-seeking, and Reporting Phishing Emails: Evidence from a Mixed-design Experiment
Xiaowei Chen, Margault Sacre, Gabriele Lenzini, Samuel Greiff, Verena Distler, Anastasia Sergeeva

ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '24), Honolulu, 2024

A* CORE
paper
4
Exploring Intended Functions of Indoor Flying Robots Interacting With Humans in Proximity
Ziming Wang, Yiqian Wu, Shiwei Yang, Xiaowei Chen, Björn Rohles, Morten Fjeld

ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '24), Honolulu, 2024

A* CORE
paper
3
Making Motivation Theories Accessible: Introducing Motivation Cards to Map Motivators for Security and Privacy Education
Xiaowei Chen, Sophie Doublet, Verena Distler

S&PEI Workshop, USENIX SOUPS 2024

Workshop
paper
2
"Who will be left behind?": A Swedish Case of Learning AI in Vocational Education
Anna Metreveli†, Xiaowei Chen†, Anders Hedman, Anastasia Sergeeva († co-first authors)

International Journal of Educational Research 133 (2025): 102697

Journal · SJR Q1
paper
1
Do Persuasive Designs Make Smartphones More Addictive? A Mixed-Methods Study on Chinese University Students
Xiaowei Chen, Anders Hedman, Verena Distler, Vincent Koenig

Computers in Human Behavior Reports 10, 100299 (2023)

Journal · SJR Q1
paper

Community Service

Associate Chair

ACM CHI '26 — User Experience & Usability Subcommittee2026

Session Chair

ACM CHI '26 — Social Impact and Responsible Tech2026

Program Committee

SCP — Conference on Sociotechnical Cybersecurity and Privacy2026
CHIWORK — Symposium on HCI for Work2025 & 2026
EuroUSEC — European Symposium on Usable Security2025

Reviewing

Distinguished Reviewer Board Member — ACM Transactions on Computer-Human InteractionOngoing
ACM CHI, DIS, CSCW; NordiCHI; ECIS; WI; Computers in Human Behavior; Journal of Cybersecurity2023–2026

Teaching & Supervision

Lecturer

Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction (undergraduate CS) — course design, delivery, assessment; UX design & persuasive technologyUni. Luxembourg

Thesis Supervision

Ramya Kandula (KTH & Ruhr University Bochum) — Master's thesis: Research Through Design to Mitigate Filter Bubble Effects on Social Media; Doctoral thesis project on LLM-enhanced chatbot for social support
Stefanie Pham (LMU München) — Master's thesis: How Johnny Experiences Phishing Warnings

Education

2022–2025PhD in Psychology (HCI track), University of Luxembourg
Apr–Sep 2025Academic Guest, Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy · Supervisor: Dr. Yixin Zou
Mar–May 2024Visiting PhD Student, ETH Zürich · Supervisor: Prof. Verena Zimmermann
2019–2021MSc Media Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
2020–2021Erasmus+ Exchange, KU Leuven, Belgium
2006–2012BA in Journalism, Northeast Agricultural University (NAU), China