Factors that Influence Young Adults’ Online Security Awareness in Durban in South Africa
ABSTRACT
Online fraud is aggressively threatening individuals and some believe that it can turn into a weapon of electronic warfare in the near future. There is strong agreement that society is required to develop its own resilience against this risk (Jakobsson & Srikwan, 2008). Vast sums are spent by both the government and business sectors on deflecting mechanisms and on cleaning up after online attacks which are becoming increasingly sophisticated and diverse (Gartner, 2009). The goal of this exploratory study was to establish what the factors that influenced online security were amongst young South African, Durban based adults. The conceptual framework used to guide this approach was Protection Motivation Theory (Rogers, 1983). Data for this study was collected via an online survey. The questionnaire was e-mailed to prospective participants at the University of KwaZulu Natal, where they could submit it electronically. The survey was also sent to the researchers Facebook friends and Twitter followers who fitted the criteria. Significant findings were that gender, race and employment status affected user awareness of online security.
AUTHORS
College of Management, IT and Governance, University of KwaZulu Natal
South Africa
Zahra Bulbulia is an Academic Development Officer for the College of management, IT and governance in the department of Information Systems and Technology. I have been involved in lecturing and coordinating IT courses from 2006-2013. I hold a Bachelor of commerce honours degree in Information Systems and Technology and am currently studying a Masters degree in Information Systems and Technology.
College of Management, IT and Governance, University of KwaZulu Natal
South Africa
Manoj Maharaj (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the School of Management, IT and Governance at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. An Applied Mathematician, Maharaj initially specialized in the Theory of General Relativity where he has published several research papers, culminating in research on gravitational radiation. Recently Maharaj has concentrated on his research in Information Systems, specializing in Information Security and other emerging information technologies, including web 2.0 and ICT for development (ICT4D). He has successfully supervised many postgraduate students in Information Systems and published extensively with his students. In addition to his extensive teaching and research experience Maharaj consults widely, presenting workshops and lectures on various subjects within the realm of Information Systems.
Published In
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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