THE ROLE OF TRUST AND OPTIMISTIC BIAS IN PUBLIC WI-FI SOCIAL ENGINEERING
Author
WOOD, SAMANNTHA KRISTANIssue Date
2016Advisor
Hashim, Matthew J.
Metadata
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The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
What is social engineering? What is a malicious hotspot? What does being a victim of a social engineering attack mean? Perhaps most importantly, what about the human mind helps make social engineering so successful? These are the main questions I address in this paper. I begin by defining social engineering and providing an overview of its nature and why it is a problem, discussing studies and papers written on the topic. I argue that there are two underlying vulnerabilities that allow so many people to be the targets of social engineering attacks: trust and the optimistic bias. Drawing from theories about online trust and interpersonal trust, I analyze how four components of trust affect how and why people connect to public Wi-Fi connections. I also consider the role of the optimistic bias in why users continue to access sensitive information on public hotspots. To get a better understanding of these theories in action, participants have been surveyed on their knowledge of risks associated with connecting to unknown Wi-Fi and their usual behaviors on their devices.Type
textElectronic Thesis
Degree Name
B.S.B.A.Degree Level
BachelorsDegree Program
Honors CollegeManagement Information Systems