SERENE-RISC 2020: The Privacy Calculus from Within: An Internal Calculus for Privacy Concerns.

Ryan Kennedy will present at the Smart Cybersecurity Network (SERENE-RISC) 2020 Annual Conference, which is an integrated cybersecurity network that connects those who generate knowledge with those who put it into practice. The focus of this year's event is on human-centric cybersecurity, understood as the multiple roles played by the human-factor in cybersecurity processes and outcomes. Details about Ryan's presentation, "The Privacy Calculus from Within: An Internal Calculus for Privacy Concerns," can be found down below. 

Advances in data collection abilities, the rapid diffusion of smartphones, and recent large scale data breaches are causing consumers' location privacy awareness and concerns to rise. Privacy related literature contains several models used to understand privacy behaviours and privacy concerns such as the Privacy Calculus. The Privacy Calculus involves a rational decision making process whereby an individual engages in a cost-benefit analysis, of competing beliefs, to decide whether to disclose their personal information. The current research extends the original Privacy Calculus inward to explore the possibility of an Internal Calculus on location privacy concerns. The Internal Calculus reflects a new cost-benefit of competing beliefs, within the existing calculus, on smartphone location privacy concerns rather than information disclosure. Six categories, composed of 14 competing factors, are considered for the internal calculus on privacy concerns; Benefits, Risks, External Influence, Internal Influence, External Protection, and Internal Protection. A novel theoretical model of an Internal Calculus on location privacy concerns is produced. It extends the original Privacy Calculus inward for a more thorough and granular understanding of individuals’ conceptualization of location privacy concerns and therefore, their intentions to disclose personal information. The model comes at a critical time, as organizations need to balance their need for customer information with rapidly increasing privacy concerns. The findings of this research have significant practical implications for several audiences including organizations collecting personal information, smartphone developers, smartphone service providers, and government regulators.