The Influence of Social Education Level on Cybersecurity Awareness and Behaviour: A Comparative Study of University Students and Working Graduates

Autor/inn/en	Hong, Wilson Cheong Hin; Chi, ChunYang; Liu, Jia; Zhang, YunFeng; Lei, Vivian Ngan-Lin; Xu, XiaoShu
Titel	The Influence of Social Education Level on Cybersecurity Awareness and Behaviour: A Comparative Study of University Students and Working Graduates
Quelle	In: Education and Information Technologies, 28 (2023) 1, S.439-470 (32 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Hong, Wilson Cheong Hin) ORCID (Liu, Jia) ORCID (Zhang, YunFeng) ORCID (Lei, Vivian Ngan-Lin) ORCID (Xu, XiaoShu)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1360-2357
DOI	10.1007/s10639-022-11121-5
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; College Students; College Graduates; Employment; Educational Attainment; Employment Level; Knowledge Level; Attitudes; Behavior; Work Experience; Computer Security; Information Security; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Collegestudent; Hochschulabsolvent; Hochschulabsolventin; Dienstverhältnis; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut; Beschäftigungsgrad; Wissensbasis; Attitude; Einstellung; Verhalten; Employment experience; Job experience; Occupational experience; Berufserfahrung; Computervirus; Computersicherheit
Abstract	A multitude of studies have suggested potential factors that influence internet security awareness (ISA). Some, for example, used GDP and nationality to explain different ISA levels in other countries but yielded inconsistent results. This study proposed an extended knowledge-attitude-behaviour (KAB) model, which postulates an influence of the education level of society at large is a moderator to the relationship between knowledge and attitude. Using exposure to a full-time working environment as a proxy for the influence, it was hypothesized that significant differences would be found in the attitude and behaviour dimensions across groups with different conditions of exposure and that exposure to full-time work plays a moderating role in KAB. To test the hypotheses, a large-scale survey adopting the Human Aspects of Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS-Q) was conducted with three groups of participants, namely 852 Year 1-3 students, 325 final-year students (age = 18-25) and 475 full-time employees (age = 18-50) in two cities of China. MANOVA and subsequent PROCESS regression analyses found a significant negative moderating effect of work exposure, which confirmed the proposed model. However, the effect was more pervasive than expected and moderation was found in the interaction between work exposure and all three ISA dimensions. The social influence does not only reshape the cybersecurity attitude of the highly educated, but also knowledge and behaviour. Findings contribute theoretically, methodologically and practically, offering novel perspectives on ISA research and prompting new strategies to respond to human factors. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01