Cybersecurity Behavior among Government Employees: The Role of Protection Motivation Theory and Responsibility in Mitigating Cyberattacks

Sulaiman, Noor Suhani; Fauzi, Muhammad Ashraf; Hussain, Suhaidah; Wider, Walton

doi:10.3390/info13090413

Open AccessArticle

Cybersecurity Behavior among Government Employees: The Role of Protection Motivation Theory and Responsibility in Mitigating Cyberattacks

by

Noor Suhani Sulaiman

^1,*,

Muhammad Ashraf Fauzi

^1,*

,

Suhaidah Hussain

¹ and

Walton Wider

²

¹

Faculty of Industrial Management, University Malaysia of Pahang (UMP), Gambang 26300, Malaysia

²

Faculty of Business and Communications, INTI International University, Nilai 71800, Malaysia

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Information 2022, 13(9), 413; https://doi.org/10.3390/info13090413

Submission received: 6 August 2022 / Revised: 22 August 2022 / Accepted: 24 August 2022 / Published: 31 August 2022

(This article belongs to the Section Information Security and Privacy)

Download

Browse Figures

Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

This study examines the factors influencing government employees’ cybersecurity behavior in Malaysia. The country is considered the most vulnerable in Southeast Asia. Applying the protection motivation theory, this study addresses the gap by investigating how government employees behave toward corresponding cyberrisks and threats. Using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), 446 respondents participated and were analyzed. The findings suggest that highly motivated employees with high severity, vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy exercise cybersecurity. Incorporating the users’ perceptions of vulnerability and severity facilitates behavioral change and increases the understanding of cybersecurity behavior’s role in addressing cybersecurity threats—particularly the impact of the threat response in predicting the cybersecurity behavior of government employees. The implications include providing robust information security protection to the government information systems.

Keywords: cybersecurity behavior; protective motivation theory; government employee; threat awareness; protection habit

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Sulaiman, N.S.; Fauzi, M.A.; Hussain, S.; Wider, W. Cybersecurity Behavior among Government Employees: The Role of Protection Motivation Theory and Responsibility in Mitigating Cyberattacks. Information 2022, 13, 413. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13090413

AMA Style

Sulaiman NS, Fauzi MA, Hussain S, Wider W. Cybersecurity Behavior among Government Employees: The Role of Protection Motivation Theory and Responsibility in Mitigating Cyberattacks. Information. 2022; 13(9):413. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13090413

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sulaiman, Noor Suhani, Muhammad Ashraf Fauzi, Suhaidah Hussain, and Walton Wider. 2022. "Cybersecurity Behavior among Government Employees: The Role of Protection Motivation Theory and Responsibility in Mitigating Cyberattacks" Information 13, no. 9: 413. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13090413

APA Style

Sulaiman, N. S., Fauzi, M. A., Hussain, S., & Wider, W. (2022). Cybersecurity Behavior among Government Employees: The Role of Protection Motivation Theory and Responsibility in Mitigating Cyberattacks. Information, 13(9), 413. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13090413

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Cybersecurity Behavior among Government Employees: The Role of Protection Motivation Theory and Responsibility in Mitigating Cyberattacks

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI