The role of instructional design in persuasion: A comics approach for improving cybersecurity

Although computer security technologies are the first line of defence to secure users, their success is dependent on individuals’ behaviour. It is therefore necessary to persuade users to practice good computer security. Our interview analysis of users’ conceptualization of security password guessing attacks, antivirus protection, and mobile online privacy shows that poor understanding of security threats influences users’ motivation and ability to practice safe behaviours. We designed and developed an online interactive comic series called Secure Comics based on instructional design principles to address this problem. An eye-tracking experiment suggests that the graphical and interactive components of the comics direct users’ attention and facilitate comprehension of the information. In our evaluations of Secure Comics, results from several user studies show that the comics improve understanding and motivate positive changes in security management behaviour. We discuss the implication of the findings to better understand the role of instructional design and persuasion in education technology.