Perception deception: security risks created by optimistic perceptions

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to determine whether management’s optimistic perceptions of their organization’s level of information security preparedness can ultimately result in increased information security risks. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was conducted in a financial institution. In all, 24 employees were interviewed. These employees came from all functional areas and various positions, from tellers to executives. Interviews were conducted, internal policies and examiners’ reports were made available and access was given to observe the employees during working hours and to observe the facilities after hours. Findings – Executives were overly optimistic about the level of information security at their organization. These optimistic perceptions guided security priorities; however, the findings show that their perceptions were misguided leaving their organization open to increased security threats. More specifically, the results show that optimist perceptions by management can put an organization’s information at risk. Originality/value – The paper uses existing theory and evaluates it in a “real-world” setting. For security research, it can be difficult to get honest responses from questionnaires; however, the hands-on approach provided a deeper insight to the problem of optimistic perceptions in an organizational setting. For practitioners, the case can raise managements’ awareness of perceptional inaccuracies, resulting in more informed information security decisions and ultimately improved security for their organization.

Fatores Associados à Adoção de Práticas de Gestão Financeira por Produtores Rurais do Triângulo Mineiro

“…A partir dos resultados obtidos,não se rejeitou a hipótese H1 de que a percepção do produtor rural sobre a relevância da gestão financeira influencia a adoção de práticas a ela associadas. Essa relação corrobora a afirmação de Nyanga et al (2011) de que a percepção é refletida no comportamento e, além disso, vai ao encontro de estudos anteriores que relataram a associação entre percepção e comportamento (Robinson, Taylor, Brice, 2016;Khan, Tan, Chong, 2017). Nesse sentido, constata-se a importância de fatores que podem influenciar a percepção do produtor rural quanto à gestão financeira, uma vez que os resultados indicaram a associação entre essa percepção e a efetiva adoção das práticas a ela relacionadas.…”

The Evolution of Information Security Strategies: A Comprehensive Investigation of INFOSEC Risk Assessment in the Contemporary Information Era

“…The installation of appropriate countermeasures is necessary in order to lessen the information security risk faced by a company. The task for identifying suitable solutions to mitigate security threats lies with management, albeit requiring diligent managerial oversight (Taylor, 2015), (Goodhue & Straub, 1991), (Taylor & Brice Jr, 2012).…”

“…Nevertheless, despite previous endeavors to ascertain the most advantageous amounts of expenditure in security countermeasures, a conclusive consensus has yet to materialize. The ultimate determination to enact security countermeasures is a multifaceted process, shaped by limitations in resources and a comprehensive evaluation of hazards within the company (Taylor & Brice Jr, 2012). Given the constraints of limited budgets, companies are required to carefully evaluate concerns pertaining to information security risk management prior to making decisions linked to security.…”