Young generations make extensive use of mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and\nlaptops, while a plethora of security risks associated with such devices are induced by vulnerabilities\nrelated to user behavior. Furthermore, the number of security breaches on or via portable devices\nincreases exponentially. Thus, deploying suitable risk treatments requires the investigation of how\nthe digital natives (young people, born and bred in the digital era) use their mobile devices and\ntheir level of security awareness, in order to identify common usage patterns with negative security\nimpact. In this article, we present the results of a survey performed across a multinational sample of\ndigital natives with distinct backgrounds and levels of competence in terms of security, to identify\ndivergences in user behavior due to regional, educational and other factors. Our results highlight\nsignificant influences on the behavior of digital natives, arising from user confidence, educational\nbackground, and parameters related to usability and accessibility. The outcomes of this study justify\nthe need for further analysis of the topic, in order to identify the influence of fine-grained semantics,\nbut also the consolidation of wide and robust user-models.
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