Gender Differences in Information Security Perceptions and Behaviour

Abstract

Information security is of universal concern to computer users from all walks of life. Though gender differences in technology adoption are well researched, scant attention has been devoted to the study of gender differences in information security. We address this research gap by investigating how information security perceptions and behaviours vary between genders in a study involving 624 home users. The results reveal that females exhibit significantly lower overall levels of security behaviour than males. Furthermore, individual perceptions and behaviours in many cases also vary by gender. Our work provides evidence that gender effects should be considered when formulating information security education, training, and awareness initiatives. It also provides a foundation for future work to explore information security gender differences more deeply.