An Investigation of Trust in a Cyber Security Tool. (September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Brown, Preston; Christensen, Kallan; Schuster, David
• Is Part Of: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society ... Annual Meeting. Volume 60:Part 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1454
• Page End: 1458
• Publication Date: 2016-09
• Subjects: Human engineering -- Congresses; 620.8205
• DOI: 10.1177/1541931213601333
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1541-9312

Abstract

Trust has been identified as an important variable in the effective use of automated tools, including cyber security tools. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate factors affecting trust in a cyber-security tool. Undergraduate participants were asked to perform a simplified network intrusion monitoring task with the help of a software agent. The reliability of the software agent was manipulated at three levels (60%, 80%, and 100% reliability). Results indicated that trust increased as the automation increased in reliability. However, contrary to our hypotheses, performance decreased as the automation increased in reliability. Implications for future research on the antecedents of trust in human-automation interaction in cyber security are discussed.