Empiracal Study of Students' Computer Security Practices/Perceptions

Abstract

For several decades computer security has been gaining in importance to organizations. In today's corporate computing environment with widespread information sharing over the Web, computer security has become an even more vital concern as threats to corporate computers continue to grow. The purpose of this article is to present the results of an empirical study of the security practices and perceptions of the next generation of corporate computer users–undergraduate university students. Specifically, this study surveyed students majoring in Computer Information Systems, Art, and Integrated Science and Technology. The findings relate to the students usage of: antivirus programs; firewalls; opening attachments; password security; and security patches. Student perceptions of computer security and its importance are also reported.