People are the weakest link in security (Anderson, 1993). People write passwords on
sticky notes on the screen. People don't patch their home systems and become botnet
zombies. People choose whether to label a patch critical or just recommended. Our moti-
vating insight is that these actions generally reflect motivated behavior in response to the
configuration of incentives confronting individuals.
Since behavior is motivated by the goals and preferences of the individual, this behavior
can be altered by designing appropriate incentives. By carefully structuring the benefits
received from using a technology, we can induce users to make choices that most benefit the
system. Along with some colleagues, we are developing a methodology for incentive-centered
design of technology systems. We are working to provide guidelines and examples of how to
carefully structure benefits to induce appropriate user choices.
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