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This study aims to investigate the differences in security-conscious (group A) and regular (group B) users’ behaviors and practices on mobile devices.

A survey was used to investigate the differences in behaviors and practices of security-conscious users (group A) and regular users (group B) on mobile devices. Each group will have 50 participants for a total of 100.

The analysis revealed differences in the behaviors and practices of security-conscious and regular users. The results indicated that security-conscious users engage in behaviors and practices that are more secure on mobile devices when compared with regular users.

The results will help recommend the best behaviors and practices for mobile device users, increasing mobile device security.

The results will help society to be more aware of security behaviors and practices on mobile devices.

This study answers the call for addressing the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in mobile device security. It develops a research instrument to measure the differences in behaviors and practices of security-conscious and regular mobile device users.

Protection motivation theory (PMT) explains that the intention to cope with information security risks is based on informed threat and coping appraisals. However, people cannot always make appropriate assessments due to possible ignorance and cognitive biases. This study proposes a research model that introduces four antecedent factors from ignorance and bias perspectives into the PMT model and empirically tests this model with data from a survey of electronic waste (e-waste) handling.

The data collected from 356 Chinese samples are analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM).

The results revealed that for threat appraisal, optimistic bias leads to a lower perception of risks. However, factual ignorance (lack of knowledge of risks) does not significantly affect the perceived threat. For coping appraisal, practical ignorance (lack of knowledge of coping with risks) leads to low response efficacy and self-efficacy and high perceptions of coping cost, but the illusion of control overestimates response efficacy and self-efficacy.

First, this study addresses a new type of information security problem in e-waste handling. Second, this study extends the PMT model by exploring the roles of ignorance and bias as antecedents. Finally, the authors reinvestigate the basic constructs of PMT to identify how rational threat and coping assessments affect user intentions to cope with data security risks.

The frequency and sophistication of cybercrimes are increasing. These cybercrimes are impacting government and private organizations as well as individuals. One of the countermeasures is to improve the cyber hygiene of the end-users. Serious games or game-based learning has emerged as a promising approach for implementing security education, training and awareness program. In this paper, the researchers propose a tabletop card game called Cyber Suraksha to increase threat awareness and motivate users to adopt recommended security controls for smartphone users. Cyber Suraksha provides an active learning environment for the players. This paper aims to provide the details of the design and evaluation of the game using a between-subjects design.

The researchers have used constructive learning theory and the Fogg behaviour model (FBM) to design a tabletop card game called Cyber Suraksha. The researchers evaluated the game using a between-subjects design. The participants' responses in the control and intervention groups were collected using the risk behaviour diagnosis scale. Pearson’s Chi-Square test with a 5% significance level was used to test the hypotheses.

The results indicate that the game is enjoyable and fun. Cyber Suraksha game effectively motivates users to adopt the recommended security control for the targeted behaviour. The results indicate that the participants in the intervention group are 2.65 times more likely to adopt recommended behaviour. The findings of this study provide evidence for the effectiveness of hope and fear appeals in improving cybersecurity awareness.

The generalizability of the study is limited because the sample size is small compared to the total number of smartphone users in India, and only students from computer/IT UG programs in India are used as participants in this study.

This study uses hope and a fear appeal to design an effective serious game. It also demonstrates using the FBM and constructive learning principles for effective serious game design. Cyber Suraksha is effective for the student group and may be tested with other age groups.

To the researchers' knowledge, there are no serious games for cybersecurity awareness focusing on the threats faced by smartphone users based on FBM and constructive learning theory. This research used hope along with a fear appeal to motivate smartphone users to adopt recommended security controls.

This paper aims to investigate cyber security awareness of the staff of Estonian libraries and gives an overview why libraries could be a target of cyber attacks and why librarians need cyber security at first place.

The data used in this paper is based on a review of relevant literature to provide an overview of the concept of cyber security, and the results of the original online survey created by the paper’s author, conducted among Estonian librarians. The online questionnaire was developed using the world-recognised human aspects of information security questionnaire (HAIS-Q), which is based on the knowledge-attitudes-behaviour (KAB) methodology. A total of 388 completed questionnaires were returned from employees of academic, specialised, public and school libraries. The results are interpreted on the basis of descriptive statistics and Kruger and Kearney approach.

The final score of library employees is 86, which is classified as good, but based on the result, two focus areas need more attention than previously, which are the use of devices and prevention and handling of incidents.

The cyber behaviour of library employees has not been widely studied in the world using HAIS-Q and KAB models, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has been previously carried out in the Estonian library context into cyber security awareness.

The current advancements in technologies and the internet industry provide users with many innovative digital devices for entertainment, communication and trade. However, simultaneous development and the rising sophistication of cybercrimes bring new challenges. Micro businesses use technology like how people use it at home, but face higher cyber risks during riskier transactions, with human error playing a significant role. Moreover, information security researchers have often studied individuals’ adherence to compliance behaviour in response to cyber threats. The study aims to examine the protection motivation theory (PMT)-based model to understand individuals’ tendency to adopt secure behaviours.

The study focuses on Australian micro businesses since they are more susceptible to cyberattacks due to the least security measures in place. Out of 877 questionnaires distributed online to Australian micro business owners through survey panel provider “Dynata,” 502 (N = 502) complete responses were included. Structural equational modelling was used to analyse the relationships among the variables.

The results indicate that all constructs of the protection motivation, except threat susceptibility, successfully predict the user protective behaviours. Also, increased cybersecurity costs negatively impact users’ safe cyber practices.

The study has critical implications for understanding micro business owners’ cyber security behaviours. The study contributes to the current knowledge of cyber security in micro businesses through the lens of PMT.

This study aims to investigate the impact of employees’ engagement in government social media (GSM) on their cybersecurity compliance attitude, protection motivation and protective behavior, thereby contributing to effective cybersecurity practices at organizations.

A quantitative cross-sectional field survey was conducted to collect primary data in big cities and large provinces in Vietnam. The final data set of 323 responses was analyzed using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling approach to interpret the results and test research hypotheses.

Engagement in GSM positively influences employees’ cybersecurity compliance attitude (ATT). Perceived threat vulnerability and response efficacy also contribute to a positive compliance attitude, although self-efficacy has a negative impact. Moreover, the cybersecurity compliance ATT significantly explains the information protection motivation, which in turn influences employee protective behaviors. However, the relationship between compliance attitude and protective behaviors is weak, unlike previous studies that found a strong correlation.

Although recent studies have explored specific information security practices in corporate and home contexts, the influence of GSM on individuals’ cybersecurity behaviors has received limited attention because of its novelty. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by investigating the impact of GSM on cybersecurity behaviors. This study provides significant contributions to understanding social media’s effects of social media on individuals’ cultivation processes, by expanding upon the protective motivation theory and cultivation theory. The results lead to practical suggestions for organizational managers and policymakers so that they can enhance their understanding of the importance of cybersecurity, encourage the implementation of self-defense strategies and highlight the significance of threat and coping evaluations in influencing attitudes and motivations.

Search engines, the most popular online services, are associated with several concerns. Users are concerned about the unauthorized processing of their personal data, as well as about search engines keeping track of their search preferences. Various search engines have been introduced to address these concerns, claiming that they protect users’ privacy. The authors call these search engines privacy-preserving search engines (PPSEs). This paper aims to investigate the factors that motivate search engine users to use PPSEs.

This study adopted protection motivation theory (PMT) and associated its constructs with subjective norms to build a comprehensive research model. The authors tested the research model using survey data from 830 search engine users worldwide.

The results confirm the interpretive power of PMT in privacy-related decision-making and show that users are more inclined to take protective measures when they consider that data abuse is a more severe risk and that they are more vulnerable to data abuse. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of subjective norms in predicting and determining PPSE use. Because subjective norms refer to perceived social influences from important others to engage or refrain from protective behavior, the authors reveal that the recommendation from people that users consider important motivates them to take protective measures and use PPSE.

Despite its interesting results, this research also has some limitations. First, because the survey was conducted online, the study environment was less controlled. Participants may have been disrupted or affected, for example, by the presence of others or background noise during the session. Second, some of the survey items could possibly be misinterpreted by the respondents in the study questionnaire, as they did not have access to clarifications that a researcher could possibly provide. Third, another limitation refers to the use of the Amazon Turk tool. According Paolacci and Chandler (2014) in comparison to the US population, the MTurk workers are more educated, younger and less religiously and politically diverse. Fourth, another limitation of this study could be that Actual Use of PPSE is self-reported by the participants. This could cause bias because it is argued that internet users’ statements may be in contrast with their actions in real life or in an experimental scenario (Berendt et al., 2005, Jensen et al., 2005); Moreover, some limitations of this study emerge from the use of PMT as the background theory of the study. PMT identifies the main factors that affect protection motivation, but other environmental and cognitive factors can also have a significant role in determining the way an individual’s attitude is formed. As Rogers (1975) argued, PMT as proposed does not attempt to specify all of the possible factors in a fear appeal that may affect persuasion, but rather a systematic exposition of a limited set of components and cognitive mediational processes that may account for a significant portion of the variance in acceptance by users. In addition, as Tanner et al. (1991) argue, the ‘PMT’s assumption that the subjects have not already developed a coping mechanism is one of its limitations. Finally, another limitation is that the sample does not include users from China, which is the second most populated country. Unfortunately, DuckDuckGo has been blocked in China, so it has not been feasible to include users from China in this study.

The proposed model and, specifically, the subjective norms construct proved to be successful in predicting PPSE use. This study demonstrates the need for PPSE to exhibit and advertise the technology and measures they use to protect users’ privacy. This will contribute to the effort to persuade internet users to use these tools.

This study sought to explore the privacy attitudes of search engine users using PMT and its constructs’ association with subjective norms. It used the PMT to elucidate users’ perceptions that motivate them to privacy adoption behavior, as well as how these perceptions influence the type of search engine they use. This research is a first step toward gaining a better understanding of the processes that drive people’s motivation to, or not to, protect their privacy online by means of using PPSE. At the same time, this study contributes to search engine vendors by revealing that users’ need to be persuaded not only about their policy toward privacy but also by considering and implementing new strategies of diffusion that could enhance the use of the PPSE.

This research is a first step toward gaining a better understanding of the processes that drive people’s motivation to, or not to, protect their privacy online by means of using PPSEs.

This study aims to argue that user’s continued use behavior is contingent upon two perceptions (i.e. the app and the provider). This study examines the moderating effects of user’s perceptions of apps and providers on the effects of security and privacy concerns and investigate whether assurance mechanisms decrease such concerns.

This study conducts a scenario-based survey with 694 mobile cloud computing (MCC) app users to understand their perceptions and behaviors.

This study finds that while perceived value of data transfer to the cloud moderates the effects of security and privacy concerns on continued use behavior, trust only moderates the effect of privacy concerns. This study also finds that perceived effectiveness of security and privacy intervention impacts privacy concerns but does not decrease security concerns.

Prior mobile app studies mainly focused on mobile apps and did not investigate the perceptions of app providers along with app features in the same study. Furthermore, International Organization for Standardization 27018 certification and privacy policy notification are the interventions that exhibit data assurance mechanisms. However, it is unknown whether these interventions are able to decrease users’ security and privacy concerns after using MCC apps.

The adoption of mobile payment remains low in certain regions, highlighting the need to identify the factors that enable and inhibit its adoption. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the role of information security, loss aversion and the moderating influence of the herd effect on Inertia and behavioral intentions in the adoption of mobile payment systems.

A structural equation model was developed and tested with 332 valid questionnaires to examine the proposed hypotheses.

The empirical results reveal that information security plays a significant role as an enabler, while loss aversion acts as an inhibitor of mobile payment adoption. Furthermore, the study uncovers the moderating influence of the herd effect on the relationship between Inertia and behavioral intentions.

This study was conducted in a specific region and may not be generalizable to other regions. Future studies could expand the sample size and scope to enhance the external validity of the findings.

This study offers practical implications for mobile payment service providers. Understanding the key enabling and inhibiting factors identified in this study can guide providers in designing and improving their services. Strengthening information security measures can help build trust among potential adopters, while offering incentives can mitigate the impact of loss aversion and encourage early adoption.

The findings of this study have social implications as they contribute to promoting the adoption of mobile payment systems. Increased adoption can enhance financial inclusion and stimulate economic development.

This study provides novel insights into the enabling and inhibiting factors of mobile payment adoption and highlights the moderating role of the herd effect. By shedding light on the influence of social norms on individual behavior in the context of mobile payment adoption, this study contributes to the existing literature and advances our understanding of this phenomenon.

Banking traces back to 2000 BC in Assyria, India and Sumeria. Merchants used to give grain loans to farmers and traders to carry goods between cities. In ancient Greece and Roman Empire, lenders in temples, provided loans, and accepted deposits while performed change of money. The archaeological evidence uncovered in India and China corroborates this. The major development in banking came predominantly in the mediaeval, Renaissance Italy, with the major cities Florence, Venice and Genoa being the financial centres. Technology has become an inherent and integral part of our lives. We are generating a huge amount of data in transfer, storage and usage, with greater demands of ubiquitous accessibility, inducing an enormous impact on industry and society. With the emergence of smarter cities and societies, the security challenges pertinent to data become greater, impending impact on the consumer protection and security. The aim of this chapter is to highlight if SSI and passwordless authentication using FIDO-2 protocol assuage security concerns such as authentication and authorisation while preserving the individual's privacy.