Can Global, Extended and Repeated Ransomware Attacks Overcome the User’s Status Quo Bias and Cause a Switch of System?

Abstract

Ransomware (RW) attack effectiveness has increased causing far-reaching consequences that are not fully understood. The ability to disrupt core services, the global reach, extended duration, and the repetition has increased their ability to harm organizations. One aspect that needs to be understood better is the effect on the user. The user in the current environment is exposed to new technologies that might be adopted, but there are also habits of using existing systems. The habits have developed over time with trust increasing in the organization in contact directly and the institutions supporting it. This research explores whether the global, extended, and repeated RW attacks reduce the trust and inertia sufficiently to change long-held habits in using information systems. The model tested measures the effect of the RW attack on the e-commerce status quo to evaluate if it is significant enough to overcome the user’s resistance to change.

Keywords: Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, E-Loyalty, Inertia, Malware, Petya, Ransomware, Sodinokibi, Trust, WannaCry

JEL Classification: C12, C21, C52, D01, D03, D11, D12, D23, O32, P46,