Securing online accounts and assets: An examination of personal investments and protection motivation

Abstract

This paper examines how personal investment influence the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) for securing online accounts. We draw from the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) that accounts for intrapersonal factors that increase one’s understanding of their threat and coping mechanisms and, subsequently, their motivation to protect such investments. We integrate size of investment – the amount of time, effort, and other personal resources that an individual has put into their online account. Based on PMT’s framework, we develop a research model that examines the influence of investment size as an information source that initiates and builds threat and coping appraisals. The model is tested with a survey of 263 responses, and the result shows that investment size influences threat and coping appraisals, which in turn increases MFA protection motivation and use. These results highlight the importance of eliciting individuals’ personal investments in order to improve their protective security behaviors.