The current study originated from the realisation that information security is no longer solely dependent on technology. Information security breaches are often caused by users, most of the time internal to the organisation, who compromise the technology-driven solutions. This interaction between people and the information systems is seemingly the weakest link in information security. A people-oriented approach is needed to address this problem. Incorporating the human element into information security could be done by creating an information security culture. This culture can then focus on the behaviour of users in the information technology environment. The study is therefore principally aimed at making a contribution to information security by addressing information security culture and, for this reason, culminates in the development of an information security culture model and assessment approach. While developing the model, special care was taken to incorporate the behaviour of people in the working environment and hence organisational behaviour coupled with issues concerning information security culture that need to be addressed. An information security culture assessment approach is developed consisting of a questionnaire to assess whether an organisation has an adequate level of information security culture. The assessment approach is illustrated through a case study. Below is an overview of the framework within which the research was conducted: The dissertation consists of four parts. Chapters 1 and 2 constitute Part 1: Introduction and background. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to the research study by providing the primary motivation for the study and defining the problems and issues to be addressed. In addition, the chapter is devoted to defining a set of standard terms and concepts used throughout the study. The chapter concludes with an overview of the remaining chapters. Chapter 2 gives some background to information security culture and discusses its evolution to date. There is a new trend in information security to incorporate the human element through an information security culture. Information security is divided into two different levels. Level 1 focuses on the human aspects of information security, such as the information security culture, and level 2 incorporates the technical aspects of information security. Part 2: Information security culture model is covered in chapters 3, 4 and 5. In chapter 3, the concept of information security culture is researched. Different perspectives are examined to identify issues that need to be considered when addressing information security culture. A definition of information security culture is constructed based on organisational culture. Chapter 4 is devoted to developing a model that can be used to promote an information security culture. This model incorporates the concept of organisational behaviour as well as the issues identified in chapter 3. Chapter 5 builds upon the information security culture model and aims to identify practical tasks to address in order to implement the model. In Part 3: Assessing information security culture, chapters 6 to 10, attention is given to the assessment of an information security culture, giving management an indication of how adequately the culture is promoted through the model. Chapter 6 considers the use of available approaches such as ISO17799 to aid in promoting and assessing an information security culture. This approach is evaluated against the definition of information security culture and the information security culture model in order to determine whether it could assess information security culture in an acceptable manner. The next four chapters, namely chapters 7 to 10, are devoted to the development of an information security culture assessment approach consisting of four phases. Chapter 7 discusses phase 1. In this phase a questionnaire is developed based on the information security culture model. Chapter 8 uses the information security culture questionnaire as part of a survey in a case study. This case study illustrates phase 2 as well as what information can be obtained through the questionnaire. In chapter 9 the data obtained through the survey is analysed statistically and presented (phase 3). The level of information security culture is then discussed in chapter 10, with interpretations and recommendations to improve the culture (phase 4). Chapter 11 in Part 4: Conclusion serves as a concluding chapter in which the usefulness and limitations of the proposed model and assessment approach are highlighted. The research study culminates in a discussion of those aspects of information security culture that could bear further research. / Prof. J.H.P. Eloff
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:8610 |
| Date | 24 April 2008 |
| Creators | Martins, Adele |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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