Laypeople and Experts risk perception of Cloud Computing Services

Cloud computing is revolutionising the way software services are procured and used by Government organizations and SMEs. Quantitative risk assessment of Cloud services is complex and undermined by specific security concerns regarding data confidentiality, integrity and availability. This study explores how the gap between the quantitative risk assessment and the perception of the risk can produce a bias in the decision-making process about Cloud computing adoption. The risk perception of experts in Cloud computing (N=37) and laypeople (N=81) about ten Cloud computing services was investigated using the psychometric paradigm. Results suggest that the risk perception of Cloud services can be represented by two components, called “dread risk” and “unknown risk”, which may explain up to 46% of the variance. Other factors influencing the risk perception were “perceived benefits”, “trust in regulatory authorities” and “technology attitude”. This study suggests some implications that could support Government and non-Government organizations in their strategies for Cloud computing adoption.