Behavioral Information Security: Defining the Criterion Space
The success of information security appears to depend in part upon the effective behavior of the individuals involved in its use. Appropriate and constructive behavior by end users, system administrators, and others can enhance the effectiveness of information security while inappropriate and destructive behaviors can substantially inhibit its effectiveness. The present research focuses on “behavioral information security” which is defined as the complexes of human action that influence the availability, confidentiality, and integrity of information systems. Because research in this area is so new, in the present in study we focused on delineating and understanding the behavioral domain. Our goal for this study was to construct and test a taxonomy of information security behaviors. We expect that this knowledge can support later research efforts that focus on understanding the antecedents and consequences of information security behavior.