Examining the effect of regulatory factors on avoiding online blackmail threats on social media: A structural equation modeling approach

Individuals and organizations rely on social media to share files and knowledge. On the other hand, criminals find social media applications a rich place to attack through techniques like phishing, fraud, and blackmail. While the rate of blackmail is growing, there is a lack of literature on the subject. This study aims to examine the impact of information security regulation factors such as information security awareness, policies, and culture towards avoiding online blackmail threats. The study proposes a model constructed from technology threat avoidance theory (TTAT), the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and organizational control (OC). A quantitative approach based on an online survey was conducted to collect data from 547 employees and students from different industrial backgrounds. The results show that information security culture and information security awareness have an impact on users’ motivation to avoid online blackmail threats through attitude and subjective norms. Furthermore, perceiving a mandated policy significantly impacts avoidance behavior. In addition, apathy and anticipated regret play a significant role in avoidance motivation. These results provide evidence on the importance of social factors on impacting avoidance motivation using the TTAT model. Further, the study encourages organizations to focus more on specifying policies and building an information security culture in order to ensure users avoid these threats through compliance and motivation.