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Factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of Internet of Things devices in South Africa

Background: The Internet of Things (IoT) is considered an essential element of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). IoT devices are vulnerable to attacks. These vulnerabilities affect all aspects of daily life including retail and home automation interconnected by basic networking. The vulnerable...

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Main Author: Bazanye, Kizito Philip
Other Authors: Uys, Walter
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Information Systems 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Bazanye, Kizito Philip
author2 Uys, Walter
author_browse Bazanye, Kizito Philip
Uys, Walter
author_facet Uys, Walter
Bazanye, Kizito Philip
author_sort Bazanye, Kizito Philip
collection Thesis
description Background: The Internet of Things (IoT) is considered an essential element of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). IoT devices are vulnerable to attacks. These vulnerabilities affect all aspects of daily life including retail and home automation interconnected by basic networking. The vulnerable end nodes may be machines, human to machine interactions, and the integration points of human-to-human communication. Problem statement: The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic ushered in increased use of IoT devices. The increased use of IoT devices perpetuated negligent use and therefore cyber-attacks exposed South African IoT users' data harvested through these devices. Purpose of research: The objective of the study is to conceptualise and understand what factors influence IoT device users to adhere to recommended IoT device privacy standards in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative, interpretivist, cross-sectional exploratory research was guided by a three-phase approach using Activity Theory. The ontological stance adopted is subjectivism. The interview questions were derived from the Activity Theory model and themes identified in the literature reviewed. The qualitative data collected from the semistructured interviews was analysed using deductive thematic analysis by linking of elements to the six components of Activity Theory. Findings: The lack of privacy adherence is driven by a lack of trust in IoT devices and service providers as well as convenience and health factors. Additionally, users' personality, awareness and surroundings are major influencers to IoT device privacy standards' adherence. Contribution and implication: This study conceptualises how IoT device privacy standards adherence can further be promoted with the increased adoption of such technologies. Further research may need to examine the specific impact of legislation on users and IoT device privacy. Additionally, the impact of third-party IoT service providers on IoT privacy models in South Africa needs to be investigated.
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id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/37096
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:34:39.078Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher Department of Information Systems
publisherStr Department of Information Systems
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/37096 Factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of Internet of Things devices in South Africa Bazanye, Kizito Philip Uys, Walter Chigona, Wallace Internet of Things South Africa Privacy standards Adherence Activity Theory Background: The Internet of Things (IoT) is considered an essential element of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). IoT devices are vulnerable to attacks. These vulnerabilities affect all aspects of daily life including retail and home automation interconnected by basic networking. The vulnerable end nodes may be machines, human to machine interactions, and the integration points of human-to-human communication. Problem statement: The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic ushered in increased use of IoT devices. The increased use of IoT devices perpetuated negligent use and therefore cyber-attacks exposed South African IoT users' data harvested through these devices. Purpose of research: The objective of the study is to conceptualise and understand what factors influence IoT device users to adhere to recommended IoT device privacy standards in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative, interpretivist, cross-sectional exploratory research was guided by a three-phase approach using Activity Theory. The ontological stance adopted is subjectivism. The interview questions were derived from the Activity Theory model and themes identified in the literature reviewed. The qualitative data collected from the semistructured interviews was analysed using deductive thematic analysis by linking of elements to the six components of Activity Theory. Findings: The lack of privacy adherence is driven by a lack of trust in IoT devices and service providers as well as convenience and health factors. Additionally, users' personality, awareness and surroundings are major influencers to IoT device privacy standards' adherence. Contribution and implication: This study conceptualises how IoT device privacy standards adherence can further be promoted with the increased adoption of such technologies. Further research may need to examine the specific impact of legislation on users and IoT device privacy. Additionally, the impact of third-party IoT service providers on IoT privacy models in South Africa needs to be investigated. 2023-03-02T07:39:45Z 2023-03-02T07:39:45Z 2022 2023-02-20T12:16:22Z Master Thesis Masters MCom http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37096 eng application/pdf Department of Information Systems Faculty of Commerce
spellingShingle Internet of Things
South Africa
Privacy standards
Adherence
Activity Theory
Bazanye, Kizito Philip
Factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of Internet of Things devices in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of Internet of Things devices in South Africa
title_full Factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of Internet of Things devices in South Africa
title_fullStr Factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of Internet of Things devices in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of Internet of Things devices in South Africa
title_short Factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of Internet of Things devices in South Africa
title_sort factors influencing user adherence towards privacy standards in the usage of internet of things devices in south africa
topic Internet of Things
South Africa
Privacy standards
Adherence
Activity Theory
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37096
work_keys_str_mv AT bazanyekizitophilip factorsinfluencinguseradherencetowardsprivacystandardsintheusageofinternetofthingsdevicesinsouthafrica