BUFFALO, NY – When employees feel they deserve technology that is superior to others — and they don’t receive unrestricted access to it — they pose a security risk to their company. themselves, according to a new study from the Buffalo School of Management.
Upcoming MIS quarterly, Research explores ‘technological rights’, some employees feel that they deserve higher technology resources, usage and privileges than their peers.
“When these exaggerated expectations of special status are not met,” said lead author Laura Amo, PhD, associate professor of management and systems sciences at the UB School of Management. , employees have the right to attack with abusive or abusive behavior. “They have less fear of breaking the rules because they see themselves as ‘above’ the organization’s limitations on technology.”
The researchers performed three studies with independent samples with a total of nearly 700 working adults. In the first study, they measured past computer abuse and perceived limitations to widespread technology use. In the second and third studies, they modeled computer abuse intent by investigating restrictions on remote access and personally and corporately owned technology in the workplace.
Their findings suggest that employees with technology rights pose a direct threat to organizations’ information security.
“If a mid-sized company increases the number of employees that enjoy technology by 10 percent, it will cost them an additional $90,000,” says James Lemoine, PhD, associate professor of organization and human resources at UB. each year to reduce that risk. School of Management. “Proactive measures — such as user behavior analysis, training, and employee awareness — can provide significant savings by reducing cyber risk.”
Their findings also have implications for creating and implementing an employee technology use policy, and recommending involving tech-savvy employees in the development process. policy to encourage buying.
“Organizations that work towards establishing fair policies are better at mitigating security risks,” said Emily Grijalva, Associate Professor of Organization and Human Resources at the UB School of Management.
Technical benefits also have implications for employees returning to the office — or being closely monitored while working remotely — in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These trends can be seen as restrictions imposed by the organization, which can increase security risks for employees with technology rights,” says Grijalva. “Businesses should carefully consider employee perceptions when deciding how to proceed with disabling or downgrading teleworking options and implementing restrictions on employees working remotely. ”
Amo, Grijalva and Lemoine collaborated on the study with Dr. Tejaswini Herath, PhD ’08, professor of information systems at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business; and H. Raghav Rao, AT&T Distinguished Chair of Infrastructure and Security Assurance at the University of Texas at San Antonio Carlos Alvarez College of Business.
The UB School of Management is recognized for its focus on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students, and alumni. The school has also been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and US News & World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it gives its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit management.buffalo.edu.
