Online Expression, Personal Cybersecurity Costs, and the Specter of Cybercrime

Abstract

The internet is used increasingly as a platform both for free expression and e-commerce. The internet has unique security and privacy risks. Such risks include the threat of criminal cyberattacks, including hacking and doxing. Internet users have a variety of attitudes towards the security and privacy risks involved with using the internet and distinct concerns and behaviors with regard to expressing themselves online. In order to mitigate the security and privacy risks of the internet, some internet users spend valuable time thinking about and configuring the security settings of their devices. They may also have different attitudes towards personal spending of money for cybersecurity products and services. This article presents a survey of research and describes a research model to address these issues. Latent factors are proposed for expression reluctance, attitude toward personal cybersecurity purchasing, and attitude toward time expenditure on cybersecurity. The authors also present the results of an analysis using two of the factors.