Reframing Cybersecurity Risk in Social Media through Digital Intimacy and Relational Exposure

Fajrul Khairati; Hasdi Putra

doi:10.31004/riggs.v5i1.6069

Authors

Fajrul Khairati Universitas Adzkia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8041-4901
Hasdi Putra Universitas Andalas https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6388-8711

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31004/riggs.v5i1.6069

Keywords:

Cybersecurity Risk, Digital Intimacy, Relational Exposure, Behavioural Cybersecurity, Social Media

Abstract

Cybersecurity research has traditionally focused on technical vulnerabilities, malicious attacks, and organizational safeguards to protect digital infrastructure. Although socio-technical perspectives have gained attention, everyday digital practices remain insufficiently examined as sources of cybersecurity risk. Concurrently, social media platforms have normalized digitally mediated intimacy, including public displays of affection (digital PDA), which embed emotionally salient and relational data into platform-based information systems. These practices introduce exposure mechanisms that are not adequately captured by conventional, technically bounded, and intent-based cybersecurity models. This article reframes cybersecurity risk by conceptualizing digital PDA as a distinct form of behavioural and relational exposure. Through an integrative conceptual synthesis of cybersecurity risk management, behavioural cybersecurity, and digital intimacy literature, the study demonstrates that digital PDA differs fundamentally from general digital oversharing. Digital PDA is relationally embedded, emotionally driven, cumulative over time, and amplified by platform affordances such as algorithmic recommendation, data persistence, and content resurfacing. As a result, intimacy-driven disclosures generate exposure that extends beyond individual users and evolves independently of the original act of sharing. The article develops conceptual frameworks that position digital PDA across multiple cybersecurity risk domains, including human, procedural, platform, and governance risks. By foregrounding relational exposure, this study advances behavioural cybersecurity beyond awareness and compliance-centric assumptions and contributes to information systems research by clarifying how platform design and governance shape cybersecurity risk. The findings provide a foundation for future empirical research and more context-sensitive cybersecurity and digital governance strategies in social media–driven environments.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

M. Nizamuddin, “Investigating the cybersecurity risks of remote work: a systematic literature review of organizational vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies,” Int. J. Inf. Secur., vol. 24, no. 4, p. 187, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.1007/s10207-025-01095-z.

R. Acheampong, D.-M. Popovici, T. C. Balan, A. Rekeraho, and I.-A. Oprea, “A Cybersecurity Risk Assessment for Enhanced Security in Virtual Reality,” Information, vol. 16, no. 6, p. 430, May 2025, doi: 10.3390/info16060430.

M. Alshaikh, “Developing cybersecurity culture to influence employee behavior: A practice perspective,” Comput. Secur., vol. 98, p. 102003, Nov. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.cose.2020.102003.

M. Ţălu, “Cyberattacks and Cybersecurity: Concepts, Current Challenges, and Future Research Directions,” Digit. Technol. Res. Appl., vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 44–60, Apr. 2025, doi: 10.54963/dtra.v4i1.919.

N. P. Shetty, B. Muniyal, N. Yagnik, T. Banerjee, and A. Singh, “A Privacy Preserving Framework to Protect Sensitive Data in Online Social Networks,” J. Cyber Secur. Mobil., vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 575–600, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.13052/jcsm2245-1439.1144.

L. Hapsari and A. H. Muhammad, “Online self-disclosure dan display of affection di media sosial online,” J. Soc. Ind. Psychol., vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 15–23, 2024, [Online]. Available: https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/sip/article/view/10167

R. Gupta and D. Saraf, “Privacy and Security Challenges in Online social media: A Case Study Analysis,” Rev. Rev. Index J. Multidiscip., vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 01–07, Sep. 2023, doi: 10.31305/rrijm2023.v03.n03.001.

T. I. Supti et al., “Digital Dependency and Security Risk: Investigating the Connections Between Fear of Missing Out, Problematic Social Media Use, and Vulnerability Perceptions,” J. Technol. Behav. Sci., Apr. 2025, doi: 10.1007/s41347-025-00515-0.

F. Ben Salamah, M. A. Palomino, M. Papadaki, M. J. Craven, and S. Furnell, “Evaluating the Risks of Human Factors Associated with Social Media Cybersecurity Threats,” in IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol. 674, 2023, pp. 349–363. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-38530-8_28.

A. Hardin, C. Schneider, and R. M. Davison, “Established theory rejection,” Inf. Syst. J., vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 1–4, Jan. 2022, doi: 10.1111/isj.12360.

A. J. Burns, T. L. Roberts, C. Posey, and P. B. Lowry, “The adaptive roles of positive and negative emotions in organizational insiders’ security-based precaution taking,” Inf. Syst. Res., vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 1228–1247, 2019, doi: 10.1287/isre.2019.0860.

M. Ahmead, N. El Sharif, and I. Abuiram, “Risky online behaviors and cybercrime awareness among undergraduate students at Al Quds University: a cross sectional study,” Crime Sci., vol. 13, no. 1, 2024, doi: 10.1186/s40163-024-00230-w.

D. Zulli, M. Liu, and R. Gehl, “Rethinking the ‘social’ in ‘social media’: Insights into topology, abstraction, and scale on the Mastodon social network,” New Media Soc., vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 1188–1205, Jul. 2020, doi: 10.1177/1461444820912533.

E. A. Vogels and M. Anderson, “Dating and relationships in the digital age,” Pew Res. Cent. Internet Technol., vol. n.a., no. May, pp. 3–33, 2020, [Online]. Available: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/05/08/dating-and-relationships-in-the-digital-age/

D. Kocur et al., “To hug or not to hug? Public and private displays of affection and relationship satisfaction among people from Indonesia, Nepal, and Poland,” PLoS One, vol. 20, no. 6, p. e0326115, Jun. 2025, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0326115.

E. Jaakkola, “Designing conceptual articles: four approaches,” AMS Rev., vol. 10, no. 1–2, pp. 18–26, Jun. 2020, doi: 10.1007/s13162-020-00161-0.

C. Post, R. Sarala, C. Gatrell, and J. E. Prescott, “Advancing Theory with Review Articles,” J. Manag. Stud., vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 351–376, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.1111/joms.12549.

R. von Solms and J. van Niekerk, “From information security to cyber security,” Comput. Secur., vol. 38, pp. 97–102, Oct. 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.cose.2013.04.004.

S. Pournouri, S. M. Mousavi, and B. Vahdani, “Cybersecurity risk management in digital transformation: A governance perspective,” Am. J. Eng. Technol., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 45–58, 2024.

T. Sommestad, H. Karlzén, and J. Hallberg, “The Theory of Planned Behavior and Information Security Policy Compliance,” J. Comput. Inf. Syst., vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 344–353, Jul. 2019, doi: 10.1080/08874417.2017.1368421.

J.-S. Lee, Y.-C. Chen, C.-J. Chew, C.-L. Chen, T.-N. Huynh, and C.-W. Kuo, “CoNN-IDS: Intrusion detection system based on collaborative neural networks and agile training,” Comput. Secur., vol. 122, p. 102908, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.cose.2022.102908.

R. Berryman and M. Kavka, “‘I Guess A Lot of People See Me as a Big Sister or a Friend’: the role of intimacy in the celebrification of beauty vloggers,” J. Gend. Stud., vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 307–320, May 2017, doi: 10.1080/09589236.2017.1288611.

A. E. Marwick and D. Boyd, “Networked privacy: How teenagers negotiate context in social media,” New Media Soc., vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 1051–1067, Nov. 2014, doi: 10.1177/1461444814543995.

C. Lutz and G. Ranzini, “Where Dating Meets Data: Investigating Social and Institutional Privacy Concerns on Tinder,” Soc. Media Soc., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1–12, 2017, doi: 10.1177/2056305117697735.

M. Haim, J. Breuer, and S. Stier, “Do News Actually ‘Find Me’? Using Digital Behavioral Data to Study the News-Finds-Me Phenomenon,” Soc. Media + Soc., vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 1–13, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1177/20563051211033820.

A. Acquisti, L. Brandimarte, and G. Loewenstein, “Privacy and human behavior in the age of information,” Science (80-. )., vol. 347, no. 6221, pp. 509–514, Jan. 2015, doi: 10.1126/science.aaa1465.

S. Odorico, “From Love Meetings (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964) to Vlogs,” M/C J., vol. 28, no. 4, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.5204/mcj.3214.

H. Putra, A. Wibisono, and M. Er, “Unveiling organisational control dynamics: a comprehensive literature review,” J. Decis. Syst., vol. 35, no. 1, Jan. 2026, doi: 10.1080/12460125.2026.2616678.

H. Putra, R. Qatrunnada, J. Rahmadoni, and F. Khairati, “Enhancing Organizational Control Through Business Intelligence: Monitoring and Automated Alerts,” Electron. J. Educ. Soc. Econ. Technol., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 112–120, Feb. 2025, doi: 10.33122/ejeset.v6i1.222.

J. von Solms, “Digital transformation in treasury, risk and finance: covid-19 to accelerate establishment of smart analytical centres in these departments,” J. Risk Manag. Financ. Institutions, vol. 14, no. 4, p. 381, 2021, [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b%5C&scp=85117147062%5C&origin=inward

W. Lertyingyod and N. Benjamas, “Stock price trend prediction using Artificial Neural Network techniques: Case study: Thailand stock exchange,” in 20th International Computer Science and Engineering Conference, ICSEC 2016, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University40002, Thailand: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2017. doi: 10.1109/ICSEC.2016.7859878.