Volume 3
Abstract: Information security is a major concern for everyone nowadays. While substantial research exists on gender differences in education and technology, there appears to be very little research on gender differences in information security and that research examines a broad list of self-reported information security behaviors in a single study. Our research adds to the literature by examining in more depth one specific area of information security behavior: peoples’ behavior relating to phishing attacks. This research attempts to investigate gender differences in email security perceptions and behaviors by surveying students, faculty, and staff at one midwestern public, master’s granting university. The survey questions are developed based on the Health Belief Model. 414 usable survey response sets were collected and analyzed. The findings suggest that men and women have different perceptions on self-efficacy, vulnerability, barriers, cues to action, and self-reported security behaviors. While the Health Belief Model provides a relatively good fit in explaining email security behaviors for both men and women, each group appears to value each of the underlying factors differently. The findings shed light on how to design and conduct security training to increase adoption of protective email behaviors. Download this article: CPPJ - V3 N2 Page 35.pdf Recommended Citation: Du, J., Kalafut, A., Schymik, G., (2024). Phishing: Gender Differences in Email Security Perceptions and Behaviors. Cybersecurity Pedagogy and Practice Journal 3(2) pp 35-47. https://doi.org/10.62273/PELX2965 |