DOES PERSONALITY AND SECURITY EXPERTISE PREDICT PASSWORD STRENGTH?

Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether some types of people are more likely to create ‘strong’ passwords. In particular, we were interested in personality characteristics and security expertise. Personality characteristics included: impulsivity, locus of control and self-monitoring. We hypothesised the following:
H1: Security experts will be more likely to create secure passwords compared to non- experts.
H2: Individuals who score low on impulsivity are more likely to create secure passwords.
H3: Individuals who score high on self-monitoring are more likely to create secure passwords.
H4: Individuals who score high on internal locus of control are more likely to create secure passwords.