Information Security Awareness of bank employees: how differences between headquarter and branch employees affect ISA program design

Abstract

It is commonly acknowledged that human behavior is a factor that should not be underestimated when it comes to Information Security (IS). Information Security Awareness (ISA) programs are set up as a preventive measure, but breaches remain to occur. In order to develop tailored ISA programs that fit user’s needs, insight is necessary. Banks hold valuable personal and financial information which makes them a target for cyber criminals and therefore, the aim of our descriptive research was to gain insight in differences between headquarter and branch employees in the banking industry. By applying the Human Aspects of Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS-Q), we were able to show that differences are present between the two groups, especially in the area’s password management, email use and social media use. This suggests that tailoring programs could benefit ISA of these bank employees. Based on our results, we presented propositions that could be examined in future research within banking, but also other sectors belonging to the financial industry.

Date of Award	4 Jun 2020
Original language	English
Supervisor	Lex Bijlsma (Examiner) & Lloyd Rutledge (Co-assessor)