Abstract
Despite the large amount of computer security information available to them, end users are often thought of as the weakest link in computer security. The information they have access to comes in many formats: news articles, news broadcasts, education documents, books, stories, and many more. However, inefficient or inconsistent communication between content providers and
content consumers may result in knowledge gaps for the consumers. The quality and attributes of the computer security information available to users impact their ability to learn from them. To better understand this state of affairs, we collected news articles, education documents, and a survey about stories endusers had heard about computer security. We then analyzed the trends present across all three datasets. We found that there are serious mismatches between these datasets concerning the topics of hackers, viruses + malware, and phishing + spam; discrepancies that may impact the communication of computer security information to end-users.
content consumers may result in knowledge gaps for the consumers. The quality and attributes of the computer security information available to users impact their ability to learn from them. To better understand this state of affairs, we collected news articles, education documents, and a survey about stories endusers had heard about computer security. We then analyzed the trends present across all three datasets. We found that there are serious mismatches between these datasets concerning the topics of hackers, viruses + malware, and phishing + spam; discrepancies that may impact the communication of computer security information to end-users.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security 2014 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |