Date Approved

2018

Degree Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department or School

Computer Science

Committee Member

Yichun Xie, PhD

Committee Member

Alphonso Bellamy, PhD

Committee Member

Xiangdong Che, PhD

Committee Member

Xining Yang, PhD

Abstract

Due to recent advances in online communication technology, social networks have become a vital avenue for human interaction. At the same time, they have been exploited as a target for viruses, attacks, and security threats. The first line of defense against such attacks and threats— as well as their primary cause—are social media users themselves. This study investigated the relationship between certain personality factors among social media users—i.e., technology acceptance of security protection technologies, self-efficacy of information security, and locus of control—and their information security behavior. Quantitative methods were used to examine this relationship. The population consisted of all students attending a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, who used social media. Data were collected via an online survey of the 559 participants. SPSS Version 21 was utilized to perform the statistical analysis. The findings indicated that technology acceptance, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and self-efficacy had a major impact on the information security behavior of participants. Regarding the moderating variable (locus of control), the relationship between technology acceptance, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and information security behavior was moderated in favor of social media users with an internal locus of control. However, the relationship between self-efficacy and information security behavior was moderated in favor of social media users with an external locus of control.

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