We collected data from 203 individuals who were currently in work and regularly used computers as part of their job. We asked them to complete the digital hoarding questionnaire so that we could assess its psychometric properties, and also to examine possible relationships between job role, data protection responsibility and extent of digital hoarding behaviours. Hoarding behaviours associated with the accumulation of physical objects is the subject of a newly-diagnosed psychiatric disorder. Studies in clinical groups and community samples have begun to clarify the demographic, social, and psychological characteristics of individuals who hoard physical items. Recently, focus has turned to the potential problems associated with digital hoarding – the accumulation of digital material such as emails, photographs, files and apps. Studies of email storage within individuals and organisations have shown that some individuals do not delete emails, and many store them in an unsecure manner. There are cybersecurity risks associated with such hoarding behaviour, as the stored material could be mined for social engineering attacks, or used by disgruntled employees who have at their disposal a repository of confidential or possibly embarrassing material that may date back several years. In short, hoarding can create cybersecurity vulnerabilities within a company and could potentially lead to the release of classified or commercially-sensitive data. In a series of quantitative surveys, we will explore the psychological characteristics of individuals who engage in digital hoarding. A key aspect will be the initial development and validation of a digital hoarding questionnaire using a large sample. In addition, we can explore how staff think about and relate to the digital information that they have access to, and how they decide on whether or not to save it or delete it. The findings will enable organisations to develop and refine their data storage and data protection policies, digital security policies, and preserve their commercial integrity.

A Qualtrics survey was distributed via a market research company to their membership base. We specified that the survey be distributed only to adults currently working and who use computers as a regular part of their job.