Examination of the Factors that Influence Teleworkers' Willingness to Comply with Information Security Guidelines

Abstract

With the increased use of teleworkers, it is important to understand how teleworker attitudes are related to willingness to accept and follow guidelines that maintain data security in the telework environment. The objective of the study was to evaluate the application of the theory of planned behavior and the idea of subjective norms as a means of explaining teleworker compliance in using information technology (IT) security guidelines in a telework environment. A sample of 150 respondents who considered themselves formal and informal teleworkers and were eligible for membership in The Telework Exchange completed a Teleworker Security Survey. Descriptive and linear regression analyses were used to determine relationships existing between willingness to follow organizational teleworker data information security guidelines and practices. The findings of the analyses demonstrated that Personal Attitude, Social Pressure, and Sense of Control represented a weak to moderate model for explaining teleworker willingness to follow an organization's security guidelines. This study is significant to organizations with teleworkers by identifying insight on the risks of teleworkers to data security, knowledge about what they can do to protect the confidentiality and integrity of data, and the intent of teleworkers to follow security protocols in a telework environment.

“Security begins at home”: Determinants of home computer and mobile device security behavior

“…The findings of this study differ from those in the organizational domain where expectations may be very explicit, and where the "significant others" include authority figures as opposed to just friends and family. Godlove (2012) noted that direct supervisors were more important determinants of the effect of subjective norm on security intentions than peers, and in the personal computing domain there are no formal supervisors.…”

The role of internal audit and user training in information security policy compliance

“…Personal attitudes about security are formative in the motivation for and engagement in pro-security behaviors consistent with ISP requirements (Bulgurcu et al , 2010; Goodlove, 2011). It has long been known that cybersecurity regimes that rely on technical controls, alone, are inadequate to protect firms (Pedayachee, 2012), and to this end, it is our expectation that an important role for “consultative IS auditors” (Steinbart et al , 2013) is to identify and remediate both platform-based and implementation-based CyberComplacency in the firm.…”

A Common Description and Measures for Attitude in Information Security for Organizations

“…Five of the articles (Dauda, Santhapparaj, Asirvatham, & Raman, 2007;Godlove, 2012;Hidayanto,Saifulhaq,&Handayani,2012;Mussa&Cohen,2013;Saeri,Ogilvie,LaMacchia,Smith, &Louis,2014)didnotincludedescriptionand7 (Bulgurcu,Cavusoglu,&Benbasat,2009;Cox, 2012;Dauda,Santhapparaj,Asirvatham,&Raman,2007;Hidayanto,Saifulhaq,&Handayani,2012;Liao,Luo,Gurung,&Li,2009;Saeri,Ogilvie,LaMacchia,Smith,&Louis,2014;Zhang,Reithel, &Li,2009)didnotincludemeasuresforattitude.Theremainingarticleswereanalyzedforthemost commonlyusedattitudedefinitionandmeasures.…”