This research study explored the information security technologies that are currently being used within organizations; attempted to determine if, according to information technology (IT) professionals, these technologies are performing the security tasks they were designed to perform; and evaluated the survivability of the infrastructure network after the infrastructure had been attacked or penetrated. The Technology-to-Performance Chain and the fit between tasks, technologies, and individual characteristics (Task-Technology Fit) of the IT professionals are the theoretical basis for this study. The types of security technologies and procedures are determined and specified by the organization’s strategic plans and policy statements, which govern all aspects of organizational operations. The motivation for this study was to determine the characteristics that define the IT professional’s abilities in utilizing specific security technologies to perform their tasks of securing the infrastructure network to maintain network survivability under all conditions. By evaluating these characteristics, organizations can effectively design training programs, evaluate information security risks, determine security technologies that are required to secure their infrastructure, and ultimately ensure the security of their proprietary data bases, repositories, and infrastructure network. Infrastructure networks have become the backbone of private industry and government agencies all over the world and must be protected from cyber-attacks and terrorism. This study incorporated the methodology of previous studies, but added the evaluations of security technologies and tasks by the IT professionals.

This research study utilized a survey design which received a sample size of 328 usable responses from across the United States. Structural Equation Modeling was used to determine the strength of the relationships between Task-Technology Fit, perceived performance impacts, and utilization of security technologies. Hypotheses 1b, 2a, 2b, and 2c were not supported and hypotheses 1a, 3, and 4 were supported. Hypotheses 1b through 2c were not supported due to the re-specification of the original model which eliminated perceived performance impacts (PPI) and utilization of security technologies (ITUtil). Additional testing and re-specifying the model resulted in PPI and ITUtil being utilized to test, through confirmatory factor analysis, if these constructs did, in fact, contribute to the results of these findings.