Some password users are more equal than others: Towards customisation of online security initiatives

South African Journal of Information Management

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Some password users are more equal than others: Towards customisation of online security initiatives
 
Creator Butler, Rika Butler, Martin
 
Subject information systems; computer security passwords; computer security; online; education; training; awareness
Description Background: Online security is a growing concern and user authentication through passwords remains an important mechanism to protect online assets. Research to date has highlighted the need to address human behaviour but without an indication of where the emphasis of security education, training and awareness (SETA) initiatives should be, beyond improved password practices. Objectives: The aim of this study was to, through analysis of the password behaviour of South African online consumers: (1) understand the prevalence of poor password practices among consumers overall and (2) identify specific password deficiencies prevalent among different demographic groups to be focus areas for tailored intervention programmes. Method: The study uses a quantitative research approach. An online survey was used to gather demographic data, perceptions about online security and applied password practices. A sample of 737 valid responses was analysed for this research. Results: Based on the descriptive analysis of the responses three key observations were made. Firstly, there is a distinct difference in the incidence of poor password practices for all respondents and thus support for tailored interventions. Secondly, there are variances between the practices within different demographic groups that could be used for customisation of interventions. Finally, the different poor practices cannot be uniquely attributed to one particular set of demographics. Conclusion: The study concluded that to improve computer password security in South Africa, password SETA programmes should be customised for areas where individual needs exist and not merely per password practice or demographic group.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2018-07-31
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Survey
Format text/html application/epub+zip application/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajim.v20i1.920
 
Source SA Journal of Information Management; Vol 20, No 1 (2018); 10 pages 1560-683X 2078-1865
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajim.co.za/index.php/sajim/article/view/920/1280 https://sajim.co.za/index.php/sajim/article/view/920/1279 https://sajim.co.za/index.php/sajim/article/view/920/1281 https://sajim.co.za/index.php/sajim/article/view/920/1278
 
Coverage South Africa — age; gender; internet experience; education
Rights Copyright (c) 2018 Rika Butler, Martin Butler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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