Fear over facts: how preconceptions explain perceptions of threat following cyberattacks

Why do cyberattacks elevate perceptions of threat even as they fail to generate truly destructive effects? We argue that people employ motivated reasoning to align cyberattacks with their preconceptions. Fielding a two-wave panel survey immediately before and after a cyberattack on an Israeli hospital, we confirm that motivated reasoning plays a crucial role in how people interpret cyber events. Results show that people already predisposed to perceive cyberattacks as threatening experience a significant increase in perceptions of threat, while those initially viewing cyberattacks as harmless also have their beliefs reinforced. The data reveals how even minor incidents bolster cyber doom convictions.