Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks
This study examines the factors influencing government employees’ cybersecurity behavior in Malaysia. The country is considered the most vulnerable in Southeast Asia. Applying the protection motivation theory, this study addresses the gap by investigating how government employees behave toward corre...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/35212/ http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/35212/1/2022_Information_Cybersecurity%20Behavior%20among%20Government%20Employees.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848824718745927680 |
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| author | Noor Suhani, Sulaiman M. A., Fauzi Suhaidah, Hussain Wider, Walton |
| author_facet | Noor Suhani, Sulaiman M. A., Fauzi Suhaidah, Hussain Wider, Walton |
| author_sort | Noor Suhani, Sulaiman |
| building | UMP Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This study examines the factors influencing government employees’ cybersecurity behavior in Malaysia. The country is considered the most vulnerable in Southeast Asia. Applying the protection motivation theory, this study addresses the gap by investigating how government employees behave toward corresponding cyberrisks and threats. Using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), 446 respondents participated and were analyzed. The findings suggest that highly motivated employees with high severity, vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy exercise cybersecurity. Incorporating the users’ perceptions of vulnerability and severity facilitates behavioral change and increases the understanding of cybersecurity behavior’s role in addressing cybersecurity threats—particularly the impact of the threat response in predicting the cybersecurity behavior of government employees. The implications include providing robust information security protection to the government information systems. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T03:17:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | ump-35212 |
| institution | Universiti Malaysia Pahang |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T03:17:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | ump-352122022-10-12T08:07:29Z http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/35212/ Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks Noor Suhani, Sulaiman M. A., Fauzi Suhaidah, Hussain Wider, Walton H Social Sciences (General) This study examines the factors influencing government employees’ cybersecurity behavior in Malaysia. The country is considered the most vulnerable in Southeast Asia. Applying the protection motivation theory, this study addresses the gap by investigating how government employees behave toward corresponding cyberrisks and threats. Using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), 446 respondents participated and were analyzed. The findings suggest that highly motivated employees with high severity, vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy exercise cybersecurity. Incorporating the users’ perceptions of vulnerability and severity facilitates behavioral change and increases the understanding of cybersecurity behavior’s role in addressing cybersecurity threats—particularly the impact of the threat response in predicting the cybersecurity behavior of government employees. The implications include providing robust information security protection to the government information systems. MDPI AG 2022 Article PeerReviewed pdf en cc_by_4 http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/35212/1/2022_Information_Cybersecurity%20Behavior%20among%20Government%20Employees.pdf Noor Suhani, Sulaiman and M. A., Fauzi and Suhaidah, Hussain and Wider, Walton (2022) Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks. Information, 13 (9). pp. 1-17. ISSN 2078-2489. (Published) https://doi.org/10.3390/info13090413 https://doi.org/10.3390/info13090413 |
| spellingShingle | H Social Sciences (General) Noor Suhani, Sulaiman M. A., Fauzi Suhaidah, Hussain Wider, Walton Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks |
| title | Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks |
| title_full | Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks |
| title_fullStr | Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks |
| title_short | Cybersecurity behavior among government employees: The role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks |
| title_sort | cybersecurity behavior among government employees: the role of protection motivation theory and responsibility in mitigating cyberattacks |
| topic | H Social Sciences (General) |
| url | http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/35212/ http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/35212/ http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/35212/ http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/35212/1/2022_Information_Cybersecurity%20Behavior%20among%20Government%20Employees.pdf |