The Role of Information Deserts in Information Security Awareness and Behaviour

D. Snyman, H. Kruger

2022

Abstract

Based on the theory of local information landscapes, this paper presents the first attempt to link this model with contextual factors in information security behaviour. It is posited that the success of security awareness campaigns is dependent on generating knowledge on security risks. Should an information deficiency (information desert) originate in the local information landscape it is likely to prevent the effective generation of the intended knowledge that the programme seeks to convey. The mutual interaction of the constructs of the underlying theory, is shown to have either a limiting or extending effect on information transfer which is further influenced by specific external contextual factors that have previously been shown to influence information security behaviour. A practical evaluation is presented on how the local information landscape, informed by contextual factors, can influence the dissemination of security awareness information within an organisation. This approach can help organisations to identify specific topics or themes that future campaigns should address to improve their effectiveness. Finally, if the factors that influence how information is propagated within the organisation are understood, changes to the contextual environment can be implemented to improve the local information landscapes and avoid information deserts.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Snyman D. and Kruger H. (2022). The Role of Information Deserts in Information Security Awareness and Behaviour. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP, ISBN 978-989-758-553-1, pages 613-620. DOI: 10.5220/0010984200003120

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icissp22,
author={D. Snyman and H. Kruger},
title={The Role of Information Deserts in Information Security Awareness and Behaviour},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP,},
year={2022},
pages={613-620},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0010984200003120},
isbn={978-989-758-553-1},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP,
TI - The Role of Information Deserts in Information Security Awareness and Behaviour
SN - 978-989-758-553-1
AU - Snyman D.
AU - Kruger H.
PY - 2022
SP - 613
EP - 620
DO - 10.5220/0010984200003120