Date of Award

8-2021

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Science in Information Systems and Technology

Department

Information and Decision Sciences

First Reader/Committee Chair

Benjamin Becerra, PhD

Abstract

Human error has been identified as one of the highest contributing factors to successful cyber-attacks and security incidents that result in data leaks and theft of sensitive information. Human error has been caused by employees not behaving securely when interacting with information systems. This culminating experience project investigated how a cybersecurity culture can be developed to address the human error problem. The research was based on several key questions that focus on influencing factors of human behavior and best practices that have been used to develop a cybersecurity culture so that employees engage in secure behaviors. Social Cognitive Theory was used to guide research focusing on environmental and cognitive factors that influence human behavior and best practices for developing a cybersecurity culture were identified through recent case studies. Key findings include: 1) environmental factors such as social proximity, subjective norms, and descriptive norms, 2) cognitive factors such as self-efficacy, knowledge, and experience, and 3) several different best practices. Based on the results, this study provides recommendations to the US government for building a cybersecurity culture.

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