Using behavioural insights to improve the public’s use of cyber security best practices

Behavioural change theory suggests influencers of behavioural change include environmental factors (such as technological design), social influencers (such as peers or family) and personal influencers (such as what we know and believe). Using the MINDSPACE framework helps design behaviour change interventions built on sound theories, maximising the chances of behaviour change. Interestingly, this paper notes messages of fear can backfire if they begin to be perceived as scaremongering (ie, if users never actually experience attacks first hand).