Information security practices in latin america: The case of bolivia

In this paper, we present a social/behavioral study of individual information security practices of internet users in Latin America, specifically presenting the case of Bolivia. The research model uses social cognitive theory in order to explain the individual cognitive factors that influence information security behavior. The model includes individuals' beliefs about their abilities to competently use computer information security tools and information security awareness in the determination of effective information security practices. The operationalization of constructs that are part of our research model, such as information security practice as the dependent variable, self-efficacy and information security awareness as independent variables, are presented both in Spanish and English. In this study, we offer the analysis of a survey of 255 Internet users from Bolivia who replied to our survey and provided responses about their information security behavior. A discussion about information security awareness and practices is presented.