INHERENT RISKS TO USERS PRIVACY BY THE USE OF ICT

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are an integral part of our lives, and they bring along risks that are inherent to their use, being the intrusion to the privacy of the users one of the most common ones. This work seeks to estimate the effectiveness of the application of security measures by ICT users to mitigate the inherent use risks, departing from a set of variables drawn from the existing body of knowledge, such as digital literacy, and network activities and behaviors, like compulsion and permissibility. To attain this goal, an observational and cross-sectional study was conducted, through the design of a survey instrument that was applied to 159 internet users who were members of social networks and belonged to a community of videogame players. The data obtained from the survey was analyzed using a binary multivariate model of stepwise logistic regression, by the maximum likelihood method, and selecting explanatory variables through forward and backward techniques, as well as undertaking goodness of fit tests. Amongst the most important results, it is shown that, despite fostering the use of better security practices and showing a lower ratio of intrusions to privacy, digital literacy has no significant impact on the likelihood of becoming a victim of intrusion. When stratifying the sample by age, a trend was clear for having a higher vulnerability when age increased. However, the difference between the groups was not as significant as illustrative.