Culture is defined as a product of biological needs and functions, social problems, and contexts. The role of culture in nonverbal communication (such as facial expressions) is considered, with the author concluding culture does indeed play a small role in the...
Research Library
The world’s first globally accessible archive of research into the human aspect of cyber security and behavioral science as applied to cyber security awareness and online behavioral change.
The persuasive influence of emotion in cancer prevention and detection messages
This paper reviews literature on the relationship between emotion and persuasion, with a focus on how the relationship might be harnessed to persuade people to both check for and take actions to prevent cancer. It suggests messages should select a particular emotion...
Why phishing works
Researchers exploring why phishing continues to fool people asked 22 people to categorise 20 websites as either fraudulent or legitimate. They found 23% of participants did not look at browser-based security cues, leading to incorrect choices 40% of the time. They...
A framework for understanding trust factors in web-based health advice
Researchers present a framework for understanding what it is that makes people either accept or reject health advice offered online. An experiment suggests credibility of information and personalisation of content predict acceptance of advice, whereas design appeal...
Identity fraud: What about the victim?
This study assesses the impact of identity fraud on victims, finding: victims' identities were most likely to have been used to apply for a store card, credit card and/or mobile phone account; that 14 per cent of victims lost money from personal accounts or credit...
Assessing end-user awareness of social engineering and phishing
This experiment revolved around a web-based survey, which presented a mix of 20 legitimate and illegitimate emails to participants. Researchers asked participants to classify emails as either legitimate or illegitimate and explain their rationale. The 179 participants...
Risk communication, risk perception and information security
This paper puts forward the view that an individuals perception of the risks associated with information systems determines the likelihood and extent to which she or he will engage in risk taking behaviour when using a computer. It is suggested that this behavior can...
Don’t be a phish : Steps in user education
Phishing, e-mails sent out by hackers to lure unsuspecting victims into giving up confidential information, has been the cause of countless security breaches and has experienced in the last year an increase in frequency and diversity. While regular phishing attacks...
A comparison of perceived and real shoulder-surfing risks between alphanumeric and graphical passwords
Previous research has found graphical passwords to be more memorable than non-dictionary or "strong" alphanumeric passwords. Participants in a prior study expressed concerns that this increase in memorability could also lead to an increased susceptibility of graphical...
A socio-behavioral study of home computer users’ intention to practice security
Home computer users play a crucial role in securing the cyberspace, but the protection of home computers is left to the initiative of the users. In this study, we focus on the sociobehavioral perspective, as the behavior of home computer users on security issues is...