The impact of attention and task performance on antiphishing performance: a multigoal perspective

Abstract

Purpose

People are often recognized as the weakest part of thwarting phishing attacks. The goal of preventing phishing can conflict with the goal of keeping a good level of productivity in daily work; however, we still lack an understanding of this multigoal scenario. This paper aims to develop and test a new model of antiphishing performance, especially in relation to individuals' task performance in daily work. Drawing on the extended multiple-goal pursuit model (MGPM*), we examined the relationship between task performance at a time point and the subsequent antiphishing performance as well as how this relationship differs across varying types of phishing emails and attention levels to phishing cues.

Design/methodology/approach

We tested the model by conducting a field experiment with a survey questionnaire. Four legitimate work emails and four phishing emails (consisting of two work-related and two work-unrelated emails) were sent to 357 participants. The data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations.

Findings

The results indicate that task performance at a time point has a curvilinear relationship with subsequent antiphishing performance. This relationship is moderated by the types of phishing emails and individuals' attention to phishing cues. For work-related phishing emails, task performance is negatively associated with antiphishing performance when it reaches an intermediate level; however, when task performance is low, or high to an extent, it is positively related to antiphishing performance. For work-unrelated phishing emails, there is a positive association between task performance and antiphishing performance. Moreover, attention to phishing cues moderates the curvilinear relationship between task performance and antiphishing performance such that when task performance reaches an intermediate level, as attention to phishing cues increases, the relationship between task performance and antiphishing performance will turn from negative to positive.

Practical implications

This paper has practical implications that bear on the conflict between antiphishing performance and task performance.

Originality/value

This paper sheds light on the potential of the extended multiple-goal pursuit model in studying antiphishing behavior.

Citation

Pan, S. and Kuem, J. (2024), "The impact of attention and task performance on antiphishing performance: a multigoal perspective", Information Technology & People, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-01-2023-0079