Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Doctor of Information Technology (D.I.T.)

School

Information Systems and Technology

Advisor

Christos Makrigeorgis

Abstract

Password policy compliance is a vital component of organizational information security. Although many organizations make substantial investments in information security, employee-related security breaches are prevalent, with many breaches being caused by negative password behavior such as password sharing and the use of weak passwords. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between employees’ attitudes towards password policies, information security awareness, password self-efficacy, and employee intentions to comply with password policies. This study was grounded in the theory of planned behavior and social cognitive theory. A cross-sectional survey was administered online to a random sample of 187 employees selected from a pool of qualified Qualtrics panel members. Participants worked for organizations in the United States and were aware of the password policies in their own organizations. The collected data were analyzed using 3 ordinal logistic regression models, each representing a specific measure of employees’ compliance intentions. Attitudes towards policies and password self-efficacy were significant predictors of employees’ intentions to comply with password policies (odds ratios ≥ 1.257, p < .05), while information security awareness did not have a significant impact on compliance intentions. With more knowledge of the controllable predictive factors affecting compliance, information security managers may be able to improve password policy compliance and reduce economic loss due to related security breaches. An implication of this study for positive social change is that a reduction in security breaches may promote more public confidence in organizational information systems.

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