PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

This study is based on previous results obtained with the validated Users' Information Security Awareness Questionnaire (UISAQ) and its main critiques concerning length and international usage. The aim was to develop a new international short version of the UISAQ, Behavioral-cognitive internet security questionnaire(BCISQ, Velki & Šolić, 2018). Authors gathered information on risky behavior and security awareness among 250 Croatian students and 225 German adults using the same instrument translated to German. The BCISQ consisted of 2 subscales with a total of 10 items. Model fit for both groups (Croatian and German) was tested using the Software program R. For both groups, the analyses did not confirm a two-factor structure. Due to large covariances between the measurement errors of the last two questions on the cognitive scale it is recommended to split this scale into two separate subscales, risk and importance. The resulting three-factor model shows a good fit for the Croatian (CFI=0.97, TLI=0.96, RMSEA=0.04, SRMR=0.04, χ2=46.61) and the German sample (CFI=0.93, TLI=0.90, RMSEA=0.05, SRMR=0.05, χ2=51.44). Future studies should try to further develop the third subscale (risk) of the BCISQ as well as to test the BCISQ in other cultures and languages.