Don't work. Can't work? Why it's time to rethink security warnings

As the number of Internet users has grown, so have the security threats that they face online. Security warnings are one key strategy for trying to warn users about those threats; but recently, it has been questioned whether they are effective. We conducted a study in which 120 participants brought their own laptops to a usability test of a new academic article summary tool. They encountered a PDF download warning for one of the papers. All participants noticed the warning, but 98 (81.7%) downloaded the PDF file that triggered it. There was no significant difference between responses to a brief generic warning, and a longer specific one. The participants who heeded the warning were overwhelmingly female, and either had previous experience with viruses or lower levels of computing skills. Our analysis of the reasons for ignoring warnings shows that participants have become desensitised by frequent exposure and false alarms, and think they can recognise security risks. At the same time, their answers revealed some misunderstandings about security threats: for instance, they rely on anti-virus software to protect them from a wide range of threats, and do not believe that PDF files can infect their machine with viruses. We conclude that security warnings in their current forms are largely ineffective, and will remain so, unless the number of false positives can be reduced

James Livingston Interview

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews James Livingston, professor at Rutgers University in the department of History about his new book tentatively entitled F--- Work. Thomson and Livingston discuss cultural ideas about work and full employment. Livingston describes the cultural changes necessary for the adoption of ideas related to transfer payments

Social support and unsolicited advice in a bipolar disorder online forum

How does a newly diagnosed user get inducted into a forum dedicated to people suffering from bipolar disorder? Is their opening message "matched" by the forum's reply? We add to the literature on social support online by using conversation analysis (CA) to explore an apparent contradiction between a new user's first post and forum members' replies with ostensibly unsolicited advice. CA reveals the intimate relation between turns in sequence, an aspect of online communication largely ignored in existing work on social support. Seen from this perspective, giving unsolicited advice, although apparently a "mismatch," turns out to be a consequence of the open design of the new user's initial posting. We speculate that such unsolicited advice might function at the ideological level to induct the new user into the mores of the group, not only in the kind of support it countenances giving, but into the very meaning of bipolarity itself

Impact of User Experience and Comprehension on Awareness Training

The human component of information systems is a target of cyberattacks. Firms address the threat using security awareness training, monitoring, controls, and enforcement. User security awareness as a part of the information system is key. Increasing telework, remote access, and collaborative technologies require user security hygiene. The problem is acute with small and mid-sized businesses, more likely to invest less in cybersecurity. This study seeks to assess the effectiveness of security awareness training at influencing user behaviors. The assessment includes the influence of training and culture on policy compliance via leadership prerogative and the moderating effect of user comprehension of security tool messaging. Security tools are integral to defense-in-depth. Little research has examined how security tools use affects user compliance intention. This study seeks to incorporate employee cognition of information from security tools into an understanding of factors that influence user attitudes toward security policy compliance

Spartan Daily, January 28, 2000

Volume 114, Issue 2https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9499/thumbnail.jp

The BG News January 25, 2000

The BGSU campus student newspaper January 25, 2000. Volume 85 - Issue 10https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/7591/thumbnail.jp

Kenyon Collegian - October 25, 2001

https://digital.kenyon.edu/collegian/1399/thumbnail.jp

The Cowl - v.56 - n.16 - Mar 12, 1992

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 56, Number 16 - March 12, 1992. 24 pages

The Stressors Faced by Retail Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, brick-and-mortar retail workers have been hailed as heroic frontline employees. No matter where a retail store is located or the severity of the lockdown, retail workers have many new regulations and guidelines to follow and implement in order to protect both themselves and their customers. Using a qualitative research methodology, this exploratory research focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting drastic changes in the retail sector are affecting the workers in North America. Four main stressors are identified: fear of the unknown, fear of infection, mistreatment by consumers, and the role of the powerless enforcer. The paper concludes with research implications and venues for future research