Obi Ogbanufe, PhD

Obi Ogbanufe, PhD • Oct 16, 2022 • 1 min read

Securing Online Accounts and Assets: Examining Personal Investments and Protection Motivation

Do your investments (e.g., time, effort, friendships) in your online accounts (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Bank, YouTube, Netflix) influence whether you'll securely protect your online account?

My research finds that one's investments do affect their appraisals of threats to the investment. Therefore, they'll use MFA to protect the investment.

Published: International Journal of Information and Management

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2022.102590

Author: Obi Ogbanufe, PhD

Abstract

In this study, I examine how personal investment influence the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) for securing online accounts. I draw from the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and integrate investment size – the amount of time, effort, and other personal resources that an individual has put into their online account.

I develop a research model that examines how investment size influences one's appraisal of threat and coping.  The model is tested using a survey of 263 responses, and the result shows that investment size does increase threat and coping appraisals, which in turn increases the motivation and use of MFA in one's online accounts.

These results highlight the importance of eliciting individuals’ personal investments in order to improve their protective security behaviors. In essence, asking users about the size of their followers on Instagram, or reminding them of the size of their investments is likely to increase the threat that they may lose the resources in those accounts to hackers. This threat then motivates them to take protective action.

Let me know if you have questions. You can download the study here: