TY - JOUR
T1 - Examining the Factors That Influence User Information Security Behavior toward COVID-19 Scams
AU - Al-Balushi, Ahlam
AU - Tarhini, Ali
AU - Acikgoz, Fulya
AU - Ali, Saqib
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2023/12/12
Y1 - 2023/12/12
N2 - Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, cybercriminals have capitalized on the situation and targeted online users. As a result, there has been a surge in the number of complaints related to new types of scams and fraud that have emerged during the pandemic. This study utilizes Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), Cultivation Theory (CT), and other constructs, including fear, attitude, general security awareness, general security orientation, subjective norms, openness, stress, and conscientiousness, to investigate the user information security behavior (ISB) against COVID-19 scams. The study gathered data from 423 internet users through a cross-sectional survey and used Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the conceptual framework. The results indicate that stress, government social media, general security awareness, response efficacy, and attitude were all positive determinants of the users’ ISB. The findings also highlight the impact of emotions, such as stress and fear, as well as government social media, on decision-making during a crisis. Additionally, the study found that the combined effects of the two threat appraisal factors on coping behaviors, which are mediated by fear, and the combined effect of the two coping appraisal factors on coping behaviors, which are mediated by attitude, were significant. However, the subjective norms on ISB did not show any variations and surprisingly, the study found that conscientiousness did not moderate the association between attitude and ISB.
AB - Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, cybercriminals have capitalized on the situation and targeted online users. As a result, there has been a surge in the number of complaints related to new types of scams and fraud that have emerged during the pandemic. This study utilizes Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), Cultivation Theory (CT), and other constructs, including fear, attitude, general security awareness, general security orientation, subjective norms, openness, stress, and conscientiousness, to investigate the user information security behavior (ISB) against COVID-19 scams. The study gathered data from 423 internet users through a cross-sectional survey and used Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the conceptual framework. The results indicate that stress, government social media, general security awareness, response efficacy, and attitude were all positive determinants of the users’ ISB. The findings also highlight the impact of emotions, such as stress and fear, as well as government social media, on decision-making during a crisis. Additionally, the study found that the combined effects of the two threat appraisal factors on coping behaviors, which are mediated by fear, and the combined effect of the two coping appraisal factors on coping behaviors, which are mediated by attitude, were significant. However, the subjective norms on ISB did not show any variations and surprisingly, the study found that conscientiousness did not moderate the association between attitude and ISB.
KW - Cybersecurity behavior
KW - cultivation theory
KW - cybercriminal activities
KW - protection motivation theory
KW - scams related to COVID-19
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UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/3bb2723a-7a88-30d1-8571-6034355f53be/
U2 - 10.1080/10447318.2023.2291608
DO - 10.1080/10447318.2023.2291608
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85179691216
SN - 1044-7318
JO - International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
JF - International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
ER -