Risk and information disclosure in Google drive sharing of tax data

Risk abounds as individuals engage in activities involving the sharing of sensitive information through a third-party cloud storage tool. In this research, we investigate the storage and sharing of very sensitive information (an individual’s tax filing information) through a specific third-party technology provider, Google Drive. Within the specifics of such a potentially risky act we argue that information assurance mechanisms implemented by the cloud storage service provider reduce risk perceptions of individuals even when very sensitive information is being shared. Previous positive experience with a cloud service is likely to mitigate concerns on information sharing on the cloud. To elaborate this proposed relationship a research model of information assurance is proposed and tested in the context of tax filing sharing intention.